State of the nation
Since GMA delivered the State of the Nation Address last July, several things have happened. Those things, not necessarily in their order of importance, are:One, she has become—something for Ripley’s or Guinness—the longest-serving president of this country without ever having been voted president. She will be delivering her seventh Sona today, the most since Ferdinand Marcos. She has occupied Malacanang longer than President Cory Aquino, who birthed People Power; Fidel Ramos, who brought forth relative prosperity before the 1997 Asian crisis; and Joseph Estrada, who won the most votes among any postwar Philippine president. Seven was a lucky number for the late dictator. One can only hope lightning won’t strike twice.
Two, Jonas Burgos disappeared some months ago and remains missing. As far as I know, Burgos is the first time the killings—I can only hope too I am terribly wrong to include him among the victims—came to Metro Manila. A thing I had been warning about in the face of public apathy: that something like that could happen to the son of a certified hero, one who had made it to the list of the world’s 100th best journalists to commemorate the end of the last century, and one who had in fact helped epically to restore life to this country. Well, the unthinkable isn’t just thinkable today, it is commonplace today.
Jonas Burgos has become the living symbol—yes living, his spirit, or memory, or name at least will not die—for the wholesale massacre of journalists and political activists, a monstrosity that remains unabated to this day. Despite the cries of the kin of the victims, despite the remonstrations of the Supreme Court, despite the fulminations of the civilized world. Jonas Burgos too has become the living reminder of something else that has disappeared in this country: Freedom. He remains missing, freedom remains missing.
Three: Which brings us to the Anti-Terror Act. A few months ago, the Melo Commission and the Alston Report accused government of having a hand in the killings, directly or indirectly. It responded by arresting Satur Ocampo for the communist purges of the 1980s. Today, Edita Burgos, the bishops and the Supreme Court accuse government of wreaking terror upon the land. It has responded by unleashing the Anti-Terror Law.
One is tempted to ask, how’s that for missing the point? But it does not miss the point. The point of the Anti-Terror Law is not to stop terror, it is to foment terror. The point of the Anti-Terror Law is not to stop killers and murderers, it is to murder critics and protesters.
Four, by the blackest of black magic, Juan Miguel Zubiri and not Koko Pimentel will be attending the Sona today as a senator. He will be conferred, as all members of the Legislature are, the title of “lawgiver.” It stands to reason. People who break the law are called “law enforcers,” people who flout the law are called “lawgivers.” It follows the same logic as conferring the title of anti-terrorists to: Juan Ponce Enrile, believed to have faked an assassination attempt to justify martial law; Noberto Gonzales, believed to be responsible for the killings; Raul Gonzalez, believed to be completely irresponsible; and GMA, whom nobody believes.
Five, Lito Atienza has been appointed head of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources. He has the best qualification of all: He deforested Arrocerros Park, which once gave refuge to birds, lovers, and bedraggled folk in the urban jungle called Manila. Same logic as previous examples. There is no truth to the rumor “Doon Po Sa Amin” will be played in lieu of “Lupang Hinirang” in the Batasan today, but there is no truth to the rumor the state of the nation may be found in the Batasan either. There is more truth in the lines: “The lame danced, the mute sang, the blind watched, and the deaf listened.”
Six, Bedol is still at large, Garci is still at small. Lintang Bedol had the near-perfect costume when he appeared at the Comelec for the first time after mounting a disappearing act like Garci: He was wearing an eye patch. It made him look like a pirate. I refuse to say Moro pirates, that is grossly insulting Moros. And I use the phrase “look like” grudgingly. The costume would have been perfect if he had worn eye patches on both eyes to remind the world that, worse than a pirate, he is a Comelec official.
Garci, well, he actually ran for congressman in Bukidnon, using as his campaign ditty, “Hello Garci,” sung to the tune of “Hello Dolly.” Thankfully, he lost; not very thankfully the person he helped put in power is still there. Who knows? Maybe Bedol will run for congressman too, and taking off from “Idol si Pidol,” use the slogan “Edol si Bedol.”
Seven, onward: They tried to oust Jojo Binay as mayor of Makati late last year and before the elections this year. They must really hate elected officials. Some nurses tried to emulate their idol in Malacanang by cheating in the exams. Unfortunately, the US authorities refused to give all of them visas. The military officers, including the two living Medal of Honor recipients, who tried to make the AFP better languish in jail, the military officers who succeeded in making the AFP worse revel (and rake money) in power. They sprung Daniel Smith in jail for committing rape, they keep Antonio Trillanes in jail for committing to reform. They killed the impeachment bids, they tried to force Inang Bayan to Cha-Cha, they shot Musa Dimasidsing to death for the heinous crime of being honest.
Finally, as the longest-serving postwar president of this country after Marcos, GMA made this country the most corrupt in Asia.
Pretty much the only bright spot that happened in all this time is that somebody got sick.
The state of the nation? Lying in state—in more ways than one.
