#17

The best (rulers) are those whose existence is (merely) known by the people.
The next best are those who are loved and praised.
The next best are those who are feared.
And the next are those who are despised.
It is only when one does not have enough faith in others that others will
have no faith in him.
[The great rulers] value their words highly.
They accomplish their task; they complete their work.
Nevertheless their people say that they simply follow Nature (Tzu-jan).

Two kinds of feelings were elicited by the above excerpt from the Tao-Te Ching when I read it.

Fear is the first. If one is to use the above teaching of Lao Tzu as benchmark or some kind of a model of a leader, and one is to put it alongside the present set of leaders that we have in the Philippines right now, we flunk big time. Sure there are still a few who actually pass (like Education USec Miguel Luz), but precisely it’s their being “few” which is disturbing and makes me feel afraid about the where our leaders shall bring the Philippines to. Oh, I thought of another one, Commissioner Haydee Yorac. And yes, former Captain Rene Jarque. But the sad fact is they’re both dead already. Whew! The good ones are not only rare, they must be dead too!

I hate to sound too negative. But I think I am one with many Filipinos who feel the anguish and the insecurity of our land’s future. It’s important to go through this kind of desperate situation, to really feel what the concerned citizens of this country feel. I remember the many nights when I find my self with this feeling of doom, not being able to sleep. Many nights, no kidding.

When one has leaders who are not loved and praised, not anymore feared (as evidenced by the media’s –especially Inquirer’s- depiction of them in their front pages), who can sleep well at night? I don’t even think I despise them. Despise is a reaction to an unpopular decision. Sometimes a leader has to sacrifice to be unpopular for a while, for the sake of the greater good. But from how I feel towards the majority of our present leaders, it’s not even despise that I feel towards them. I don’t even see them as leaders anymore. They’re totally hopeless. And what I am afraid of is that if they’re totally hopeless, the country will not be far behind.

But wait a minute. Did I just say we’re nearing becoming hopeless? When I first read the excerpt, honestly, that’s how I felt. But I am a man looking for that redeeming aspect. I read the excerpt again. And then there was light. Hope was the second feeling that was elicited by the excerpt.

The first line of the teaching above talks about the best leaders, those who are virtually unnoticed, those “whose existence is merely known by the people.” Perhaps, there are those leaders, who don’t reach the front pages of the dailies, or the headlines of every evening news. They are those who silently “accomplish their task; they complete their work.” These are the best leaders.

Do I know many of them? No. But that’s precisely why they are the best. Aside from not getting themselves into anomalous or scandalous positions, they don’t go around publicizing the good works that they do. These are the ones who keep to what they are naturally are, letting their actions do the talking.

This is the set of leaders, unknown for now, who will redeem our country. This is also the set of leaders whom I hope all of us are, or will become. AM+DG.

The Call of the King

This is how it’s going to be.
Come closer then, and listen very well,
if you say you want to follow Me.

Conquest of the whole world and all my enemies
shall come, let the hours tell.
This is how it’s going to be.

Every land, every king will be on their knees
before me. In your soul, faith in my words must swell
if you say you want to follow Me.

You will be on my right hand as we feast on my glory
amidst crying trumpets and triumphant yells.
Surely, this is how it’s going to be.

But before it all happens, you must be ready
to stay with me and guard the place where I dwell
if you say you want to follow Me.

Until you perish, for believe me
Everyone who went before you died and fell
For this is how it shall always be.
Will you still want to follow Me?

(here's an attempt at making a villanelle. done in 2003)

let all the truth come out

whatever it is that national security adviser norberto gonzales says he has to say against the opposition he must say soon. and he must say all. i don't think there's anything this country can't bear anymore since the jueteng and garci issues came out.

first, the presidency is clearly going down. congress is surely going down, after they have chosen to apply to impeachment the cheaper definition of "political process." the military (implicated in the garci tapes), the church (receiving money from pagcor), other offices (comelec- is there even an investigation or any action going on to find out about comelec's culpability? lgu's in jueteng) have all been tarnished. restoration for all these it seems will take a miracle.

second, if everything is going down, i don't want to be in a future where i will have to obey or give honor to some of the politicians in the opposition. so if there's anything gonzales can say, i hope he says it all out now. if most of everything's going down anyway, the last thing that i want to see happening is for the likes of imee or zamora to be excluded. i can't say hail to them.

From Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan

Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan will be convening this coming Saturday, from 1 to 5pm, representatives of different organizations, congregations, and groups concerned with the current political crisis, to facilitate a communal discernment activity dubbed as "May Kuwenta ba ang Kuwento?" The objective of this activity is to inform everyone of the current national situation, come up with universalizing principles, and design courses of action. Interested groups may call 426-6101 loc 3440, 3441.

Venue will be at the Cardinal Sin Center, Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University. 50 pesos will be charged for every participant. Please limit participants to 10 members per group.

no end in sight

one controversy after another. this is what i have been saying before, for as long as there is no definitive closure to this crisis, there will be more and more mudslinging and backstabbing.

the next round is no longer about the truth. it's about making the other camp's life more and more miserable. venable issue vs gma. fbi spy case vs lacson camp. whoever gives up loses.

the more this drags on, the more institutions will be affected. till in the end, there won't be anything about the state for the people to trust. there will be wide-ranging discontent, irritation, anger. then there will be more reason for violence, death, and then what?

i don't think even death will put an end to all these.

signs of hope

last friday, we gave a briefing on the current national crisis to more than 150 college students coming from different organizations here in the ateneo. calungsod hall was so jampacked, they had to bring in additional chairs, while others had no choice really but to stand along the sides. in previous briefings, we would normally just speak before an audience of 10-15 students, but this time it's 10 times more.

personally, i see this as a sign of hope. these students could be among the busiest college students in the whole country, especially at this time when the semester is about to end, plus the many activities they have in their respective orgs. and they still have the heart to take on and know more about the national situation.

at this early these students are widening their circle of concerns to embrace issues more complex than where to eat for lunch or how to look good. when they share that their hearts were broken with the recent death of the impeachment, i see that a sign of hope too.

i hope to see these students growing up to be the rizals of our days. it's been more than a hundred years since the ateneo produced heroes like them. or the evelio javiers in the martial law years. crises are opportune times for the emergence of such heroes. and they have to start emerging now.

lozano does it again

lozano has done it again. i think he has actually mastered the art of doing things wrongly. this i think is what he has made himself an attorney for. learning the legalities for him to know how not to follow them. i can't believe how one man can have that much "apog". i wonder how much he's paid this time to commit this booboo. he actually gets paid for playing stupid, my god, how can he even afford to use that money? how can he even walk the streets and hold his head up? i'm so angry right now that if i had a gun in hand and he happens to pass by i won't even hesitate to shoot him.

----
http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=1&story_id=50295
Supreme Court rejects impeach appeals
First posted 01:17pm (Mla time) Sept 15, 2005
By Tetch Torres
INQ7.net

THE SUPREME COURT has dismissed the petitions filed by lawyers Ernesto
Francisco and Oliver Lozano in connection with the impeachment case
filed against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In a resolution, the tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by Francisco
asking SC to order Congress to admit the amended impeachment
complaint.

It noted that Francisco's petition was premature as the
pro-impeachment lawmakers could still file a motion for
reconsideration at the House of Representatives, where the impeachment
complaints were quashed last week.

Meanwhile, Lozano's petition was dismissed for violation of the Rules
of Civil Procedure.

Under the law, the petition should come first before a motion. On
Lozano's case, he filed a motion for extension while his petition has
yet to be filed.