Balitang Kutsero: By Perry Diaz
Ex-prez Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has joined an elite group of people – the “Untouchables.” And the group is growing fast! On top of the list of “Untouchables” are those who are protected by President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III: Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico E. Puno; Little President Paquito “Jojo” Ochoa Jr.; spin doctors Sonny Coloma and Ricky Carandang; and members of the Kamag-anak Inc. and Kabarkada Inc. Next are the jueteng lords who are allegedly protected by the “Three Kings of Jueteng.” Next is Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez who is protected by the Supreme Court.
Gloria must be in high Heavens right now. Yup, the Supreme Court’s 10-5 ruling that nullified Executive Order No. 1 -- creating the Truth Commission -- is a major, major victory for Gloria and a major, major setback for Noynoy.
Indeed, Gloria’s hard work in selecting the “right” people to appoint to the Supreme Court paid off. And by appointing Renato Corona as Chief Justice, it ensured that her “secret agenda” would be carried out to the letter.
Now, Gloria can claim that she has 10 black-robed rogues in her pocket… or as Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello call them, the “Gang of 10.” Ugh! That hurts. Be careful Walden, the “Gang of 10” might cite you for contempt.
Don’t be surprised if you’d see the mug shots of the “Gang of 10” in the Rogue Gallery, which includes a plagiarist Supreme Court justice and a midnight chief justice.
Next in line to join the “Untouchables” are Gloria’s 900 midnight appointees whom Noynoy removed by issuing Executive Order No. 2. As a matter of fact, one of them -- National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) commissioner and secretary Bai Omera Dianalan-Lucman – has already become an “Untouchable” when the Supreme Court issued a “status quo ante order” reinstating Dianalan-Lucman.
But Noynoy isn’t giving up. He vowed to stop at nothing to “get to the bottom of allegations of large-scale corruption under Arroyo” despite the Supreme Court’s nullification of the Truth Commission.
I think Noynoy should start listening to his “bosses,” the hoi polloi. Many of his “bosses” told him that he didn’t need the Truth Commission to dig Gloria’s dirt cuz tons of Gloria’s dirt was already dug up in a multitude of previous Senate investigations. They’re there for the Ombudsman to use to prosecute Gloria.
The Ombudsman? Ooops! That’s a big-o problemo, amigo. Hey, as long as Merci Gutierrez is the Ombudsman, don’t expect her to prosecute her dear friends, Mike and Gloria Arroyo and their cohorts. And Merci’s term of office is good until December 1, 2012… unless Congress impeaches her. And that’s where the “Arroyo Court” comes into play. Do you see the big picture now?
The plot thickens… The latest buzz is that allies of Noynoy are demanding impeachment of midnight chief justice Renato Corona for the Supreme Court’s junking of the Truth Commission. In all fairness, shouldn’t the other nine members of the “Gang of 10” be impeached too? Like they say, “What’s good for the gander is good for the goose.” Yup, it should be all or nothing.
Jojo’s mojo… Guess who’s being blamed for Executive Order No. 1 gone wrong? Little Prez Jojo Ochoa. Yup, with all his “mucho macho” image as a heavy drinker and woman-chaser, Jojo surely has mojo. Perhaps Jojo should show Noynoy how to get mojo. He could certainly use it on Trish, Barbie, Liz, and Len.
Freudian slip… Asked by the media if impeaching midnight chief justice Renato Corona is a priority, Noynoy said, “There is a complainant, there is an endorser who is a member of the House of Representatives. We might have our own opinions. I ask you to go around and look at various civic groups...one of the judges complained of the decision, that came out in one of the major dailies. I’m just quoting from what was told me.” Then he added, “I might be disciplined by (my) superiors in the Supreme Court but I think this was a wrong decision brought about by a political court, by a political Supreme Court.” Did you notice that? Noynoy admitted that the Supreme Court justices were his superiors! Whoa! No wonder we’re having a leadership crisis. Would the president please come forward and lead?
Revising EO to include Bonifacio presidency… There are now talks in Nonoy’s administration of expanding the mandate of the Truth Commission investigate corruption scandals not only during Gloria’s presidency but also in previous administrations in order to satisfy the constitution’s “equal protection” clause. One of Noynoy’s aides suggested that the Truth Commission’s investigation should go back to the Aguinaldo presidency. Huh? Well, if they went back to Aguinaldo’s time, they should go further back – to the time of Andres Bonifacio whom many historians claim to be the real “first president.” Then they’d notice that today’s political wrangling was no different more than 100 years ago when Bonifacio and Aguinaldo were fighting each other while they were losing the war against their common enemy.
Now, this is going to be a major, major investigation that might take up to 100 years to complete. That would be something that future generations of Filipinos would be laughing at. By that time, the Philippines would probably be broken up into many tiny banana republics.
Let’s take a glimpse into what it might look like 100 years from now:
The entire northern Luzon would become the Kingdom of Ilocoslovakia ruled by Ferdinand “Dingdong” Marcos VI.
Pampanga would be divided into two countries: Liliputania ruled by the Arroyo dynasty and Juetengland ruled by the Pineda dynasty.
Mindanao would be united under the Sultanate of Ampatuan and the Sulu archipelago would become the Islamic Republic of Abu Sayaff.
Tarlac would never be united as one nation because of the ongoing Cojuangco War, which has been going on for almost two hundred years. However, a powerful clan would rule a little enclave called Paniquino in the middle of Tarlac. Paniquino would declare itself neutral and would become the Switzerland of Asia where the jueteng lords, warlords, drug lords, and kleptocrats secretly deposit their ill-gotten money.
If only our present-day politicians would come to realize that unless they can get their act together and institute reforms in the government, we’re looking at another Somalia in the making. But the people need to change as well.
A wise old man once said… “When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.”
Indeed, one man can change the world only if he has the strength and will to change himself. Who is that man?
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)