Minguita Padilla

Minguita Padilla
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
Asia News Network
Manila

I voted for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo not so much because I was
convinced she was the best of the lot, but because of fear.

I feared that a vote against her would be a vote for Fernando
Poe, Jr. who, at that time, I believed to be the greater evil;
not so much because of his person who history has since judged to
have been a good man with a noble heart and a sincere desire to
serve our country. No. Like many, I feared FPJ because of his
inexperience and especially because of the people behind him who
had been shown to be opportunists. I voted defensively.

However, it was a defensive vote that carried with it the hope
that by giving Arroyo a clear mandate, she would perform as a
good president should, with only the best interest of our nation
and its people in mind. I did it for love of country.

But the events over the past several months, especially those
of the last, have been enough to almost cause me to throw in the
towel and declare, like so many of our countrymen, that indeed we
are a hopeless nation. It is only the fighter and the dreamer in
me that make me hold on.

We are a battered people, battered by administrations that
have betrayed our dreams and shot down our hopes since we fought
for our freedom in Edsa I. It is a "learned helplessness" that
seems to have taken over the majority of our people, now grown
cynical and numb in the face of scandal after scandal that has
rocked the last two administrations. But we cannot allow anyone
to rob us of hope. We do that and we lose everything.

Shocking as they may be, the latest jueteng scandal now being
investigated in the Senate as well as the taped phone
conversations of the President that allegedly point to her giving
instructions to an official of the Commission on Elections to
cheat during the last balloting are but the symptoms of a cancer
(corruption) that has slowly and insidiously taken over our land
and our people.

Should the taped conversation prove to be authentic, the
brazen way the instructions for cheating were being given by the
President to a Comelec official is again a symptom of how we have
become as a nation to corruption. The head of state and an
official trusted to safeguard our votes would think nothing of
mocking one of the most sacred rights of our people. And even
sadder is that very few groups, save those with vested interests,
are publicly demanding to get to the bottom of this serious
charge.

Could it be because we are still stunned by what we are
witnessing? Or could it be that we have sunk to such depths as a
nation that we are no longer capable of outrage?

We are at another crossroads and we, citizens of good will who
have not yet given up hope, must reclaim our nation. We must
complete the unfinished Edsa I revolution that lacked an
essential element-the transformation of heart. We do nothing now
and we may again see our country held hostage by yet another
group of people only too eager to oust the present regime so it
can do what it is accusing the present leadership.

We need to be united as a nation during these difficult times.
But it cannot be a "unity" that is achieved at the expense of
truth and justice; a unity that simply helps to propagate all
that is wrong with our present system. If we must be united, let
it be in demanding that our leadership set things straight and
stop skirting issues by fighting accusations only with counter-
accusations. Let us demand that we be given the truth for a
change. We have turned a blind eye to wrongdoing long enough and
this is where it has led us.

Like most Filipinos, I so desire to see our country get back
on track. I wish to see the sanctity of the ballot protected, the
dignity of our institutions restored, our Constitution respected,
and our nation's soul reclaimed. I am not a destabilizer. I am
simply a Filipino who refuses to give up hope. I therefore beg
the President to submit these taped telephone conversations for
authentication by independent, international agencies.

If the version wherein she is speaking to the Comelec official
is proven false, then everybody stands to gain. She would be
vindicated and we would perhaps learn how to trust again.
However, should it be proven authentic then she would be guilty
of an impeachable offense. Should this be the case then she
should do what is decent and best for our country. She must step
down.

The writer is the founder and president of the Eye Bank, is
also president of Sinag, a People's Crusade for Good Governance.