Crisis

Yesterday, our country faced another crisis, Senator Antonio Trillanes lV, Brig. General Danilo Lim and other military officers walked out of the court and marched to Manila Peninsula Hotel and expressed their withdrawal of support to the President. On their way to the hotel, Trillanes took the opportunity to call on to people to go out and support their clamor for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to step down from the presidency."Magsama-sama tayo. Nanawagan po kami sa taongbayan na naniniwala sa pagbabago. Join us po" was the words he used to seek the support of the people When I heard him say those words, I had goose bumps. It was like hearing the late Cardinal Sin, calling on to people to come to the aide of the rebel leaders. Unlike the successful Edsa 1, no one came to the aide of Senator Trillanes and company.

Question is why? If Senator Trillanes is so confident that the 11 million votes he received will support him, why did he not succeed? Probably, the method he used is no longer effective. The people are tired hoping against hope that if they overthrow a government or a public official from the position, they can see change. People power was effective during Edsa 1, it was also effective with Edsa 2. But after that, succeeding revolts against the government failed to initiate dramatic response from the people. Are the Filipino people disillusioned with the outcome of Edsa 1 and Edsa 2 that they no longer want to use the same method to unseat and put into position a person who does not truly deserve to govern?

I am disillusioned. I rejoiced when President Erap was thrown out of Malacanang and President Gloria Arroyo was sworn as the President. I further rejoiced when Gloria Arroyo was elected into office during the last presidential election. I thought she is the "next best choice" among the candidates. But with the continous graft and corruption cases being thrown at her government, I am already in doubt. But despite my doubts and disappointment with the government, I still think that the President is doing a good job in improving the economy. I just hope that she distances herself from the people who are taking advantage of her position.

As for Senator Trillanes, I admire his desire to have a clean government. But wouldn't it be better to start a clean government in a "clean" way too? What he did was a big risk. He gambled on the 11 million votes he received. He was elected by these 11 million people because they believe that he can make a difference in the government. But making a difference may not mean making a drastic move. He is a Senator but he disrespected another wing of the government, the justice system. Their decision to go out of the Peninsula and "surrender" was not because they are thinking about the safety of the people around them. They should have thought about the innocent guests of the hotel before they went there. This was the second time that he risked innocent people in his desire to overthrow the government. The first was in Oakwood, and now, the Manila Peninsula. I believe that the reason he decided to "surrender" was because, hours after calling on to people to support them, no significant number of supporters arrived. Maybe realizing that they will not be able to gather considerable amount of people on the streets, they surrendered under the guise of "welfare of innocent people."

I want change. I want a clean government. I want a stable economy. But how can we achieve this if there are people who does not have high regard of the law? If there are elected officials who think they are above the law? Trillanes and the President Arroyo that they want to portray are no different from each othe. If all the charges of corruption and election fraud against Arroyo are true, is Trillanes, who violated the constitution, disregarded the court, occupied a private property for personal intentions any different?

Remember what Jesus said to the people throwing stones at Mary Magdalene. "Whoever is sinless can throw the first stone".