Quo Vadis, Gloria?
“I am sorry.”
With those three somber words, our beleaguered Chief Executive offered her apologia to a nation longing for answers. Her understated and remorseful tone had the entire country riveted to their television sets. It was after all her national address in response to the imbroglio rocking her administration (“Gloria-gate”, how original can you get?) – the damning wiretapped phone conversation between her and Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano who’s now MIA like the Nixon whistleblower codenamed Deepthroat was during the Watergate scandal.
But the parallelisms end there. Watergate forced the resignation of Richard Nixon, the first and only US President to do so. It remains to be seen whether Gloria-gate would trigger the downfall of another sitting head of state. Whereas Deepthroat (former FBI Deputy Director Mark Felt) was widely-acclaimed as a true patriot and civil servant when he came out from the cloak of anonimity, it is very doubtful that Garcillano would be accorded the same honors. Unless he gives a definitive and truthful account of the cellphone caper, he will always be remembered as an accomplice to one of the greatest election travesty in our history.
Clearly, those ubiquitous “Hello Garci” ringtones (ahh, the wonders of Bluetooth technology) that were constantly tormenting the Prez in her sleep had sounded a loud, ringing wake up call. Stonewalling the issue and the press would only stoke the fire as Dick Nixon found out the hard way. She had no recourse but to silence the voices and exorcise the demons of elections past. After all, what better way to skirt the scandal than to offer a sincere, calculated and carefully-worded apology? Fittingly, she was nearly in tears during that brief bilingual address. Heartfelt outpouring of regret or another scripted PR masterstroke? Depends on which side of the fence you’re sitting on.
The opposition, the left and throw into the mix a character actor now masquerading as a political savant quickly added fuel to the proverbial fire. Vindication, they all felt was the fruits of their incessant agitation. With happy thoughts of a return to the Estrada-era Malacanang days, they echoed out their long-standing cries: impeach her, resign or face the indignity of another mass revolt. Eerily familiar calls with all too familiar and catastrophic results.
Funded and provoked by a cabal of power-hungry opportunists, the poor, tired and huddled masses will once again be goaded to take to the streets with the end result of catapulting a new administration into power. At the present, the alternative leadership being rammed down our throats doesn’t exactly augur well for our country’s future. They are but a motley crew of defeated contenders and political has-beens riding on the coat-tails of the late and beloved actor cum Presidential candidate. All desperately clinging on to that one last glorious stab at power.
It has become a vicious cycle now terminally imbedded into our collective consciousness. Remember EDSA I-III? Is it just me or are we about to witness a second People Power trilogy? God forbid, These habitual “political road rage” must be stalled before it gathers momentum. Sequels are meant for movies or boxing matches, not for uprisings.
Meanwhile, we are left to start all over again, to hear the same old empty promises and hope for sweeping changes that will radically uplift our national patrimony vis a vis the economy. This is the moribund state of our beloved country - the first republic and democracy in Asia, the birthplace of Rizal and Bonifacio, the only predominantly Catholic nation in the Orient, yet careening towards the edge pushed by a penchant for regime change like Paris Hilton on a whim. Funny, but that is the underlying essence of a democracy. We freely elect our leaders and as soon as we found him/her to be wanting (or gambling and lying), to EDSA we go marching and shouting.
Where to Gloria? Wherefore art thou Garci? The Filipinos want answers to their anguished and oft-neglected calls…
