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Couch
commandos described last Thursday’s action as poorly
conceived and desperate. Know-it-alls called it stupid.
Then there were those who argued: “Ends do not justify
the means.”
But the
argument about means and ends does not apply to the
exercise of a people’s sovereign will. The universally
accepted principle and practice in that area is “by any
means necessary.” Witness the American and Philippine
revolutions and the struggle of the Israelis to
establish their own country, to cite a few examples.
The
action of Sen. Antonio Tril-lanes IV and Brig. Gen.
Danilo Lim flows from the fountainhead of modern
democracy, the American Declaration of Independence:
“[W]henever any Form of Government becomes destructive
of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and
to institute a new Government, laying its foundation on
such principles and organizing its powers in such form,
as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety
and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that
Governments long established should not be changed for
light and transient causes; and accordingly all
experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to
suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right
themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are
accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations pursuing invariably the same Object evinces
a design to reduce them under absolute
Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to
throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards
for their future security.”
Thus,
it’s a waste of time to argue over the righteousness or
immorality of the course of action chosen by Trillanes
and Lim. They had a right and a duty to act. And they
did.
Agreeing
on the form of government that will replace Gloria
Arroyo and uniting behind that vision will better serve
the public welfare.
I didn’t
go to the Peninsula Hotel that Thursday because I saw
Trillanes and Lim surrounded by junta advocates. I am
against juntas.
An
unelected government run by a coalition of ideologues
and men in uniform, no matter how pure of heart they may
be, is not my idea of a democracy.
Besides,
ideologues have no qualms about sacrificing the
principles that set apart civilized societies from
barbarians—the rule of law, due process, human rights,
and civil rights and liberties—on the altar of doctrine.
In
America, neocon ideologues stood the Statue of Liberty
on its head as soon as they came into power.
The
protector of the world’s oppressed became the warden of
torture camps. The land of freedom and liberty became
the land where a suspect can be spied on, arrested and
detained incommunicado without need for a warrant. And,
when corruption infected the neocon war on terror, the
land of equal opportunity for all became the land of
no-bid contracts for the favored few.
It would
have been nice if Trillanes and Lim called for the
ouster of Mrs. Arroyo followed by a snap election. That
would have erased all doubts about their commitment to a
democratic way of life. Unfortunately, they chose to be
vague about the type of government they envisioned.
Be that
as it may, I applaud Senator Trillanes and General Lim
for their courage and patriotism. They may not have
triumphed, but they didn’t lose. There are no losers
among those who fight fearlessly for what’s right.
Gloria
Arroyo can bully cowards and weaklings, but the
courageous and the stouthearted will always remain
defiant, undefeated and unbowed.
Buencamino writes political commentary for Action for
Economic Reforms (www.aer.ph). |
