My good friend and colleague Ding Gagelonia lauded Mrs. Gloria Arroyo for visiting Mrs. Aquino’s wake at the Manila Cathedral. He wrote that it was a singular act of statemanship?
What statemanship?
Is it being a stateman to visit Cory at her final day? Malacanang spinmeisters wanted us to believe that Mrs. Arroyo cut short her US trip just to see Cory. Crap. They never cut her trip short. In truth and in fact, Mrs. Arroyo was really slated to arrive today.
What statemanship?
When Mrs. Arroyo did that televised announcement directing the entire Nation to observe a ten day mourning period for Mrs. Aquino, that was not a sincere gesture. Mrs. Arroyo wanted to put a period to our feelings, by saying that we remember Cory only for that brief moment.
What statesmanship?
Everybody saw how Mrs. Arroyo acted like she really felt sad when Cory died, when, in truth and in fact, they partied like crazy in Washington, the very same day Tita Cory left us. Those precious few minutes prior to the taping of that televised announcement of Mrs. Arroyo that showed her laughing and smiling like a dog, was that statesmanship? Thanks to technology, we unmask pretenders like Arroyo.
What statemanship?
When Mrs. Arroyo ordered the withdrawal of Mrs. Aquino’s personal security, that was no statemanship? It was actually a statement coming from an evil one, that, evil do thrive in our midst.
And what statemanship?
When Mrs. Arroyo continues her plunder and when her men continue their plunder. When Arroyo continues to defy the JBC. And when Mrs. Arroyo continues to rule unjustly, that, in itself, and by itself, show that Mrs. Arroyo rebukes Mrs. Aquino every single day she stays in that office. There is no better way to say it that Mrs. Arroyo’s very existence is an anti-thesis of what Cory stood for, lived for and even died for.
The true and singular act of statesmanship that everyone expects from Mrs. Arroyo is very simple—stop promoting evil and immorality in this country.
That word statesmanship means absolutely nothing without the word “honesty” attached to it. Admit it—Mrs. Arroyo decided to visit Arroyo not because she wanted to but because she needed to. That’s the difference. And let us not be fooled.
Finally, what Mrs. Arroyo’s act really meant to us was simply, it gave us a moment of retrospection, somewhat of an epiphany. It made us reflect how different Mrs. Arroyo is. That if Cory was honest, Mrs. Arroyo was dishonest. When Cory meant what she said and do things based on her honest and personal views about things, Mrs. Arroyo does things according to what her politics dictates her to.
That phony sad face of Mrs. Arroyo tells us all the more that we need to strive for rectification of History. That shows us the extreme necessity of ousting the very reason why we’re so miserable.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Hi Pat.
You may disagree but note I am saying “singular” – referring to the act of paying respects before the body of President Cory.
What Mrs. Arroyo does next will eventually determine, nay define, if in the larger sense she has what it takes to be a Statesman FOR The Nation.
The operative aspect in my own estimation of those in the public service, high or low, is that public acceptance, nay, sufferance of their actions puts the onus on them to not betray public trust.
I give them enough rope, either to reach the top, or to hang themselves with.
I trust I make myself clear.
Pat,
I will repost my comment on ding’s “great act of statesmanship.
“You had been jumping up and down in almost every move of politicians and had been drawing dramatic conclusions in their acrobatic acts. Methink, makes FV cheap.
Rabid combatants in the battlefield would knell and even pray for fallen adversaries and allow the vanquished army to collect their dead. There is nothing so stately or grand about it. Just a routine protocol of war. GMA’s visit is a simple act of honoring the dead and there is nothing stately about it and it was not an act of statesmanship. And so were the Marcos children’s act of extending their personal condolences to the Aquino family. They were just being civil and polite about it, but you have read it as a compete reconciliation.
They were still enemies and all those appearances of civilities are all political gymnastic. They were just moved by the great outpouring of public sympathy to Cory and would not miss the photo-opportunity. If they would reconcile and patch-up, then it would, as bencard said, an attempt to hoodwink the vacuous mind of the Filipinos, though in the case of Cory-GMA reconciliation, bencard would not admit it as a great political maneuver, but an act of “statesmanship”.
See how our bias would color our perception. :)
There is a world of difference between adversaries and enemies. The simple truth remains that Ninoy Aquino was an adversary of Marcos in the competition for power. He refused to take the easy way and capitulate when Marcos unilaterally changed the rules of the game.
The political balance of forces created by Marcos dictatorship during the waning years made Ninoy expendable.
The battle of clans continues as it should in our feudal Philippines. It is too bad dueling was outlawed which was part of civilized behavior.
It is an important part of growing up as a country when we see our royal families coming together and treating each other with civility.
I do not think that the GMA government expected the outpouring of support of President Aquino. They simply got caught in their PR gamesmanship when common sense should have prevailed.
But you live with perception management as your main policy tool and you die with it. It that sense GMA has made herself the lamest of lame ducks.
expendable from Mr. Marcos’s POV and he was wrong in that perception. how he wished they had not done wrong against ninoy after the outpouring of sympathy snowballed after his death.
i can’t believe these people! you can accuse pgma of insincerity in everything she does, but for heaven’s sake, let her pay her respect to the dead in peace. why quarrel about whether or not attending the wake was an act of “statemanship” or just the “right thing” to do for anyone in the president’s position? cory, a former chief executive, is dead. she cannot be a politician any more. let not the people around her continue playing politics in her behalf. she is not, and cannot be, an “enemy” or “adversary” to anyone any longer. let it be.
Bencard let me remind you a notable line in “The Queen” as said by the Prince Philip character.
“Diana dead is more annoying than alive! [to the Windsors]”
and we can just replace “Diana” with “Cory” and we get
“Cory dead is more annoying than alive! [to the Arroyo administration and cha cha of course and not to the majority of Pinoys]
Again may I remind you that dead politicians can get votes too and in the case of Mrs Aquino’s husband, nuke the Marcos regime! Mrs Aquino’s passing is no nuke but an exocet missile against Gloria’s cha cha ship!
What are the odds Kris Aquino debases the goodwill that former President Aquino had left behind?
And then, there is this — a few more months and GMA leaves Malacanang.
How long the unity-kuno of the anti-GMA’yers?
On Kris, that we will see in the run to 2010!
who cares what an engalnd’s priest said about his dead wife. we all know her death did not cause upheaval to the monarchy, let alone dissolve it for good. you sound like you ar wishing an uprising against the current government to take advantage of cory’s death. regardless of all the platitudes, that is no cause to agitate for bloodshed. work for the repair of the institutions, but most of all, for the reform of the individual filipino. as a “teacher” you can do no less.
erratum: i meant prince, not “priest”.
Why does the media equate civility as expected of all people, rich or poor for “statesmanship”?
The Aquino love-fest is a release of pent-up GOODNESS of Filipinos far and wide, contrasted against a mind-boggling pattern of abuse of public trust from unending scandals never resolved, murders never resolved, misuse of public funds for personal re-election, and betrayals such as HR1109.
Seems to me any wise congressman and any presidential candidate would do well to heed this sentiment and recognize that fame, which endures longer than fortune, is best found through good deeds. THAT is what Ms. Aquino stands for, to me.
It can last as long as people have memories, and as long as the internet is not shut down.
Joe
hate to bust your chops, american joe, but they did that “love fest” in america for the likes of elvis presley, michael jackson, and john kennedy, to name a few. in the philippines, they had that for fpj, rico yan, ninoy aquino, and now cory. nothing unusual in the context of your platitude. calm down.
Dear Ding,
In the dead of night, Arroyo went to the wake. As Mr. America said in another blog, she may not have had a choice. The media said that she rushed home from the U.S.A. to at least drop by the wake. Like a punster said, “That was the slowest “rushing home” in history.
In the dead of night, a pichpocket went to the same wake. The Manila Police caught him and quickly rushed him to the Western Police jail nearby.
Some crooks are now in jail. Some are still outside. Some don’t have choices. Some do.
Dean
Hi Dean,
As I told Pat above:
I am saying “singular” – referring to the act of paying respects before the body of President Cory.
What Mrs. Arroyo does next will eventually determine, nay define, if in the larger sense she has what it takes to be a Statesman FOR The Nation.
The operative aspect in my own estimation of those in the public service, high or low, is that public acceptance, nay, sufferance of their actions puts the onus on them to not betray public trust.
I give them enough rope, either to reach the top, or to hang themselves with.
Keep blogging. :)
betrayal of the public trust does not come with heavy penalties anyway.
hey, steal BILLIONS, retire in Hawaii, have a museum built, have a Swiss bank account. crime pays in the Philippines.
thus, from janitor to President the daily grind is another opportunity to fraudulently get rich quick and get away with it – pinoys don’t mind as long as there is balato.
of course, the same people who take the balato, are the same people rallying against corruption – and who vote into office the very people who are corrupt.
hay buhay
very profound, mr. “dean”. for a 4-year old, that is.
i’m a little confused here. was pgma’s attendance at mrs. aquino’s wake a display of statesmanship?
the simplest definition of statesmanship i found in the dictionary is this:
“wisdom in the management of public affairs”
i’m not sure how that relates to her visiting the former president’s wake.
the way i see it she was just trying her hardest to be decent. probably, she was just exercising her wisdom in managing something else. perhaps public perception? just asking.
i agree with blackshama’s observation. there may be some confusion over “statesmanship” and “civility.”
Hi Ding,
It may be a bit late for the singular visitor to change at this point. While hope springs eternal and even crooks on the cross can repent, I am still waiting for the point were they are nailed to the cross.
Then I would be the first to visit. Sunrise, sunset or at the dead of night. I am pretty sure the lines won’t be long anyway.
Dean
She was there crying Crocodile Tears. Why did Gloria Arroyo
harrassed the late Pres. Cory Aquino, when she was still alive?
It was because the late Pres. Cory Aquino was against her plans
to become another Marcos. This is just the simple answer. No other
way to sanitize, spin, or rationalize any other answer.
So, be vigilant. Otherwise her Pres. Cory Aquino’s legacy to us
will be taken by Gloria Arroyo. She stole an election. She can
steal our legacy.
Sa Balana,
Hindi ako nagtataka sa mga kumakamot nang kanila ulo sa katagang “singular” at sa pagkilala ng maikling liham na ito sa ginawa ni Ginang Arroyo na pagdalaw sa burol.
Kapwa literal at patalinghaga ang gamit sa katagang “singular” dahil ito ang hinihingi nang pagkakataon.
Isang akto kapuri-puri…. nguni’t di dapat na iyuring na pangkalahatang pagbabago ng ugali.
Ang susunod na mga ikikilos, ang susunod na gagawin ni Ginang Arroyo ang siyang magbibigay patutuo kung isa siyang ganap na Statesman.
Kung tunay na kaya niyang isa isang tabi ang makitid niyang mga mithiin para sa nakararami.
Ngayong nailibing na nang sambayanang Pilipino si Tita Cory oras na upang suriin kung anong landas ang tatahakin nating kanyang mga naulila.
Ang habilin ni Coru Aquino: patuloy nating ipaglaban ang ating Demokrasya mula sa mga magtataksil, at nagtaraksil rito.
Hindi niya tayo binigo, huwag natin siyang biguin!….
Tuloy ang LABAN.
Arroyo is areflection of how homeland pinoys think of their state – their personal statesmanship, their civic spirit – totally lacking.
GMA’s visit to Cory’s wake reminded me of that scene in Brad Pitt’s “Troy” in which King Priam negotiated for the return of his son, Hector’s body, for proper burial.
The old king said, “I may be your enemy, but even enemies can show respect.”
that sentiment, jhay, is of civilized men, not of a society whose level of civility is reflected in its teleseryes, wowowee and eat bulaga.
abso-bloody-lutely.
however, such message has yet to sink in with the oblivious – and it may never sink in.