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I am not
sure whether the author George Santayana, who posited
that oft-quoted advisory that “those who forget history
are likely to repeat it,” was a product of Catholic
education or came from a deeply religious family.
But he
could very well have been both, considering the many
invocations about remembering—which his injunction so
correctly noted— populating the Good Book. And if one
has to suggest a companion piece to Santayana’s
advisory, it could very well be “vengeance is mine, says
the Lord” which, by the way, is also much quoted,
especially on occasions such this long four-day All
Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day weekend of remembering
our dearly departed.
Yes,
sir, you don’t have to sweat things out or scrounge
around for sources of instructions and inspiration about
life and its mysteries and, yes, prayers and
remembering. Just read the Bible. For most of us in this
country, the Christian way has been and will continue to
be the foundation of our lives, a belief that I am sure
even our brothers from other faiths will surely share,
as I am certain the Good Book also mirrors their own
basic life and faith readings.
I had to
preface this piece with the above notes after reading
all those statements attributed to so-called leaders
making light of or otherwise condemning the executive
clemency extended to former President Joseph Estrada by
his successor—and to them, archenemy—President Arroyo.
Ascribing all kinds of motives to this otherwise
Christian and, yes, proper and legally unassailable act,
they have gone out of their way to condemn not only PGMA
but Erap as well. They have even gone to the extent of
issuing all kinds of threats to both parties as if they
had, like the denizens of the other world, command of
the forces of retribution in the here and now. One had
thought that like most of us ordinary folks, they would
have at least given this unprecedented and, might I add,
risky political act, time and let the avowed good
intentions for the national interest flower into
fruition.
If Erap
himself—who was elected with the biggest majority in the
nation’s history but had to suffer the humiliation of
being ousted from office on questionable grounds, haled
to court also on iffy premises and detained for
six-and-a-half years—accepted his fate with grace, how
could these same people, many of whom ate off his hands,
betray him at this most crucial hour? How could they not
accept his regaining of his civil and political rights,
especially at this time when his mother is dying? These
are questions that these guys would have to answer soon
when the dust shall have settled and they will be made
to account for their own acts as “servants of the
people.”
Why
couldn’t they have acted like Cebu Cardinal Vidal, who
posited that pardon and forgiveness are vital lessons of
Christian life? Or, like former President Cory Aquino,
who hailed the pardon, saying: “I am happy for former
President Joseph Estrada and his family. I pray that as
a free man, President Estrada will imbibe the lessons he
has learned from the sufferings he has endured and
continue to serve our less fortunate brothers and
sisters.” Coming as it did from someone who has had to
go through her own purgatory, if we may call it such,
and who had every reason to be as bitter and full of
hate as those who are now railing against the pardon,
that was quite a mouthful.
Perhaps,
Erap can take a leaf from President Cory’s book of
prayer and forgiveness, which has led her to devote time
to the less fortunate and preside over a microfinance
program which I understand has been giving hope and
livelihood to thousands of our less fortunate brethren.
Indeed,
the former President will be better off pursuing what he
outlined in his rousing speech before his San Juan
constituents immediately after his release when he said
that he will devote the remaining years of his life to
taking care of his dying mother, devote time to family
affairs and direct most of his energies to the welfare
and uplift of the poor. Instead of giving in to the
entreaties of his erstwhile allies who just could not
contain their anger and, in this instance, bafflement
over the turn of events, he could teach them a lesson or
two in humility and statesmanship. Instead of dwelling
on the past and conspiring to exact vengeance on those
who might have done him harm, he could take the high
road and move on for the greater good.
Like
Cory, he need not join a political party to make an
impact. As a matter of fact, he should retire from his
own party, PMP, and leave its affairs to his sons and
his younger allies and supporters. Having gone through
six-and-a-half years of hell, as his associates like to
recall, grace and gentle repartee will have its own
rewards. He retains the loyalty of close to 30 percent
of our people and remains one of the most, if not the
most, trusted political figures in the country. Indeed,
his calm and tempered deportment at this time of turmoil
will sit well with our people. Better than the
hate-filled harangues of those in the opposition who
continue to rush him into the political fray or the
blackmailing ways of PGMA’s allies in the ruling
coalition. He should take his time and do what the Good
Book says: do good to your brothers and let the Lord
take care of the rest.
SANA NA NGA. |
