You have numbers at the very heart of a democracy. Within the millions of people who swell to form the foundations of this nation, there are a few numbers that are telling the signs of the times, even more worthy of our attention than the inconsistent explanations of the lapdogs of Malacañang. For all we know, the least that we can do is not to dignify any of the praises to and defenses of Malacañang with a comment. But for the sake of fulfilling the essence of a democracy and defending it all the more, we have to make a stand and condemn the political prostitutes in this country.
These are just some of the Inquirer headlines in the past hours, telling us that this nation has been and continues to be a nation of numbers:
-GMA recently released P210B IRA for LGUs a few days after several governors and mayors from across the country reaffirmed their allegiance to Gloria.
-Palace lawyers reach consensus on EO 464, but have yet to disclose their decision with the CBCP.
-The military vowed to go “full force” against attempts to grab power, mustering 2,000 fully-armed troops and 16 battle tanks and armored personnel carriers on Friday, hours before a huge anti-government rally in Makati City.
-DoJ snubbed not once, but twice, in NBN probe.
-Military Chief General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the military will not engage themselves in the political situation even when the protesters mount to 1 million participants.
-PNP estimates protesters at Makati at about 15,000. Protesters on the other hand reports the number to be at around 85,000.
-The latest Pulse Asia survey reveals 3 out of 4 Metro Manilans disapprove Gloria.
Incidentally, at around 5pm, the ATO (Air Transportation Office) released an order which made the air zone in the Makati area a "no-fly zone". Which effectively stopped the aerial TV coverage from helicopters by the media. Which eventually limits considerable proportions of the flood of humanity in Makati from being shown to the Filipinos in their television sets. Which makes us wonder why the PNP had to request for that ATO order in the first place, right about the same time when Gloria stayed in Camp Crame for three hours with her bandwagon. Which ultimately makes us wonder who the PNP really is serving.
Incidentally, former Senator Tito Sotto is cajoled by the thought of disarming the Senate of its capacity to investigate the ZTE-NBN deal. “Take it to court. The Senate is not a court. Why is it accepting verbal testimony from witnesses without documentary evidence? What they are saying is hearsay, which is not admissible in court,” he said. Well, that is not equally amusing. He's pinning the tail on the donkey's head, blindly or consciously it doesn't really matter. The Senate is not a court of course, so there's really no point in his argument. I think it would be better for him to exile himself in Eat Bulaga rather than to stab a democratic institution he once fiddled around.
Incidentally, Gloria's lapdogs were insulted by the remark of Bishop Teodoro Bacani for comparing their master to a "midget". I don't know if reality really bites or if midgets are actually tall before the eyes of allies and short before the eyes of critics. Or it can be both. Either way, we don't really want to parade any of our mental retardation by publicly denying that a midget is not tall. If one does, what can I say? One rests one's case.
In a decade or so, perhaps the current political turmoil in this nation will be a learning statistic for those who have continuously failed to uphold the democracy, bargaining not for the interest of the people but for the interest of Gloria. In a decade or so, perhaps the PNP will begin to learn to make a closer numerical estimate even before they are taught to carry guns and defend a sitting corpse in the Palace. In a decade or so, perhaps the next president will learn not to make every attempt to cling to power more obvious by feeding a P210B IRA to LGUs at the height of a scandal. In a decade or so, perhaps EO 464 will just be a meaningless assortment of letters and numbers which has once stirred a nation of a meaningful democracy. In a decade or so, perhaps the display of power, of 2,000 military men and 16 battle tanks, will ebb with the wind like a distant memory.
Or perhaps we should remember them all the more, teaching us that the numbers in this nation do not merely come by the tens and that the democracy never fails to manifest itself in more ways than one. We must.
These are just some of the Inquirer headlines in the past hours, telling us that this nation has been and continues to be a nation of numbers:
-GMA recently released P210B IRA for LGUs a few days after several governors and mayors from across the country reaffirmed their allegiance to Gloria.
-Palace lawyers reach consensus on EO 464, but have yet to disclose their decision with the CBCP.
-The military vowed to go “full force” against attempts to grab power, mustering 2,000 fully-armed troops and 16 battle tanks and armored personnel carriers on Friday, hours before a huge anti-government rally in Makati City.
-DoJ snubbed not once, but twice, in NBN probe.
-Military Chief General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the military will not engage themselves in the political situation even when the protesters mount to 1 million participants.
-PNP estimates protesters at Makati at about 15,000. Protesters on the other hand reports the number to be at around 85,000.
-The latest Pulse Asia survey reveals 3 out of 4 Metro Manilans disapprove Gloria.
Incidentally, at around 5pm, the ATO (Air Transportation Office) released an order which made the air zone in the Makati area a "no-fly zone". Which effectively stopped the aerial TV coverage from helicopters by the media. Which eventually limits considerable proportions of the flood of humanity in Makati from being shown to the Filipinos in their television sets. Which makes us wonder why the PNP had to request for that ATO order in the first place, right about the same time when Gloria stayed in Camp Crame for three hours with her bandwagon. Which ultimately makes us wonder who the PNP really is serving.
Incidentally, former Senator Tito Sotto is cajoled by the thought of disarming the Senate of its capacity to investigate the ZTE-NBN deal. “Take it to court. The Senate is not a court. Why is it accepting verbal testimony from witnesses without documentary evidence? What they are saying is hearsay, which is not admissible in court,” he said. Well, that is not equally amusing. He's pinning the tail on the donkey's head, blindly or consciously it doesn't really matter. The Senate is not a court of course, so there's really no point in his argument. I think it would be better for him to exile himself in Eat Bulaga rather than to stab a democratic institution he once fiddled around.
Incidentally, Gloria's lapdogs were insulted by the remark of Bishop Teodoro Bacani for comparing their master to a "midget". I don't know if reality really bites or if midgets are actually tall before the eyes of allies and short before the eyes of critics. Or it can be both. Either way, we don't really want to parade any of our mental retardation by publicly denying that a midget is not tall. If one does, what can I say? One rests one's case.
In a decade or so, perhaps the current political turmoil in this nation will be a learning statistic for those who have continuously failed to uphold the democracy, bargaining not for the interest of the people but for the interest of Gloria. In a decade or so, perhaps the PNP will begin to learn to make a closer numerical estimate even before they are taught to carry guns and defend a sitting corpse in the Palace. In a decade or so, perhaps the next president will learn not to make every attempt to cling to power more obvious by feeding a P210B IRA to LGUs at the height of a scandal. In a decade or so, perhaps EO 464 will just be a meaningless assortment of letters and numbers which has once stirred a nation of a meaningful democracy. In a decade or so, perhaps the display of power, of 2,000 military men and 16 battle tanks, will ebb with the wind like a distant memory.
Or perhaps we should remember them all the more, teaching us that the numbers in this nation do not merely come by the tens and that the democracy never fails to manifest itself in more ways than one. We must.
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