E·N·Q·U·I·R·Y
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
Moving on
Sunday, 07 11, 2004
The day following the dawn proclamation of the presumptive President and Vice President, somebody sent me an SMS – or texted me, as my son would say – with the following text message: “The war is over. Henceforth, dial 09178423170 for peace. Let’s move on.”
Knowing whom the message came from, I was struck by this revelation of how he, the sender, considered the recent elections and national canvass. A war indeed it had been, replete with the massive deployment of personnel, the commitment of money, resources and equipment, and the use of force, fraud and lies to baffle, confound and wear down the enemy on the other side of the political divide. Of course, the war was lopsided in favor of the wielder of power and dispenser of largesse. According to one of the strategists in the prevailing side, the endgame of that war was predictable as early as the day certain appointments were made to key positions in the office that would manage – and when certain situations demanded it, mismanage – the rules of engagement.
Now that the war is over, what then could we expect from those who prevailed and from those who claim that victory had been stolen from their hands?
From the small minority who managed to prevail through waves upon waves of force, fraud and lies, nothing much and nothing new is expected. It will be more of the same stream of patriotic pronouncements craftily issued at appropriate occasions to detract attention from a decaying and degraded state of governance. Or things could be much worse, unless these “victors” wake up one wonderful day willing up with a sense of fairness and commitment to do good henceforth, and a realization that enough is enough already. Already, the much vaunted 10-point program for governance is now being eroded by the succession of questionable appointments; by the spiraling increase in prices and fees for every conceivable aspect of living; by the succession of offers of reconciliation which are no more than thinly veiled demands for capitulation; by the succession of denials of the truth in the elections aching to come out; by the succession of violent moves to curtail rights, etcetera ad nauseam.
In the face of these aggravations, the great majority who rightfully claim to have prevailed, but who are obviously out of power – and it looks it could be quite a stretch of time before they could actually prevail – might do well to offer more tangible solutions than the hope for unity and real steps in living gainfully. After all, their somber handling of, and almost resigned reaction to, the atrocious and roughshod treatment they received from those in power is a reassuring message that peace among all will prevail. Nothing of the sudden grab for power is likely to be entertained. If they must – and they certainly would – they should lodge the electoral protest before the last day to file: Not in the parliament of the streets but through constitutional and legal routes. By now, it is quite safe to presume that the country has welcomed the declaration made the other day by the legislators in the opposition that they will fiscalize responsibly and are committed to support the legislative agenda that make for real gains in the standard of living.
Move on. We should expect no less than this unselfish act from rational men and women on both sides of the political fence: Set aside the differences that divided them in the last war that took a semblance of an electoral exercise. While these differences will not be forgotten soon enough, it is best to use them as constant reminders of just how far we can get away from them, and forge ahead despite them.
Peace in governance, and not much of the bickering of the past, should be the yardstick to measure how far those who have held on to power can accommodate the legitimate grievances of those who claim to have prevailed. For as long as no accommodation is given and the doors to the Palace are shut to those who want to say they have been cheated, the doors to the Palace will be continually shaken, rattled and pounded, and the enmity will exacerbate. The mute will not stay mute long enough; their words could come in torrents, sooner than later. The deprived will not be deprived long enough; the concentration of their frustrations is their secret strength. And only God, and not some bishop down south, knows what’s next.
It need not come to this, if those in power in the current administration as well as those in the future will wisely see that never has there been a good war or a bad peace.
Now that’s a good sound byte worth inclusion in the State of the Nation Address, but the Sona is too far away in the calendar to be anticipated. Besides, the nation had been regaled with too much pageantry in many Sonas in the past, only to find out nothing much has changed. Those kids and their bangkang papel are now dim memories in the newsreels in our minds. Where are they now? They have not moved beyond the shore of forlorn hope. Too much time to unite the country has been lost; too many opportunities to make good the promises made have been passed over.
Those who prevailed must move and act. Now. Many, including one obstinate cynic whom one hardly expected to reciprocate, accepted the offer of peace made by that text sender. This could be the beginning. A wise man once said all glory (no pun intended) comes from daring to begin. One step at a time, a foot in front of the other, could very well get us here.
For comments about this website:Webmaster@tribune.net.ph
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL
Moving on
Sunday, 07 11, 2004
The day following the dawn proclamation of the presumptive President and Vice President, somebody sent me an SMS – or texted me, as my son would say – with the following text message: “The war is over. Henceforth, dial 09178423170 for peace. Let’s move on.”
Knowing whom the message came from, I was struck by this revelation of how he, the sender, considered the recent elections and national canvass. A war indeed it had been, replete with the massive deployment of personnel, the commitment of money, resources and equipment, and the use of force, fraud and lies to baffle, confound and wear down the enemy on the other side of the political divide. Of course, the war was lopsided in favor of the wielder of power and dispenser of largesse. According to one of the strategists in the prevailing side, the endgame of that war was predictable as early as the day certain appointments were made to key positions in the office that would manage – and when certain situations demanded it, mismanage – the rules of engagement.
Now that the war is over, what then could we expect from those who prevailed and from those who claim that victory had been stolen from their hands?
From the small minority who managed to prevail through waves upon waves of force, fraud and lies, nothing much and nothing new is expected. It will be more of the same stream of patriotic pronouncements craftily issued at appropriate occasions to detract attention from a decaying and degraded state of governance. Or things could be much worse, unless these “victors” wake up one wonderful day willing up with a sense of fairness and commitment to do good henceforth, and a realization that enough is enough already. Already, the much vaunted 10-point program for governance is now being eroded by the succession of questionable appointments; by the spiraling increase in prices and fees for every conceivable aspect of living; by the succession of offers of reconciliation which are no more than thinly veiled demands for capitulation; by the succession of denials of the truth in the elections aching to come out; by the succession of violent moves to curtail rights, etcetera ad nauseam.
In the face of these aggravations, the great majority who rightfully claim to have prevailed, but who are obviously out of power – and it looks it could be quite a stretch of time before they could actually prevail – might do well to offer more tangible solutions than the hope for unity and real steps in living gainfully. After all, their somber handling of, and almost resigned reaction to, the atrocious and roughshod treatment they received from those in power is a reassuring message that peace among all will prevail. Nothing of the sudden grab for power is likely to be entertained. If they must – and they certainly would – they should lodge the electoral protest before the last day to file: Not in the parliament of the streets but through constitutional and legal routes. By now, it is quite safe to presume that the country has welcomed the declaration made the other day by the legislators in the opposition that they will fiscalize responsibly and are committed to support the legislative agenda that make for real gains in the standard of living.
Move on. We should expect no less than this unselfish act from rational men and women on both sides of the political fence: Set aside the differences that divided them in the last war that took a semblance of an electoral exercise. While these differences will not be forgotten soon enough, it is best to use them as constant reminders of just how far we can get away from them, and forge ahead despite them.
Peace in governance, and not much of the bickering of the past, should be the yardstick to measure how far those who have held on to power can accommodate the legitimate grievances of those who claim to have prevailed. For as long as no accommodation is given and the doors to the Palace are shut to those who want to say they have been cheated, the doors to the Palace will be continually shaken, rattled and pounded, and the enmity will exacerbate. The mute will not stay mute long enough; their words could come in torrents, sooner than later. The deprived will not be deprived long enough; the concentration of their frustrations is their secret strength. And only God, and not some bishop down south, knows what’s next.
It need not come to this, if those in power in the current administration as well as those in the future will wisely see that never has there been a good war or a bad peace.
Now that’s a good sound byte worth inclusion in the State of the Nation Address, but the Sona is too far away in the calendar to be anticipated. Besides, the nation had been regaled with too much pageantry in many Sonas in the past, only to find out nothing much has changed. Those kids and their bangkang papel are now dim memories in the newsreels in our minds. Where are they now? They have not moved beyond the shore of forlorn hope. Too much time to unite the country has been lost; too many opportunities to make good the promises made have been passed over.
Those who prevailed must move and act. Now. Many, including one obstinate cynic whom one hardly expected to reciprocate, accepted the offer of peace made by that text sender. This could be the beginning. A wise man once said all glory (no pun intended) comes from daring to begin. One step at a time, a foot in front of the other, could very well get us here.
For comments about this website:Webmaster@tribune.net.ph
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