Who Do We Trust Now?

I am breaking my personal vow to never write about politics. I honestly have little interest on the topic and therefore consider myself to be quite inadequate to intelligently discuss views on what goes on in the government. This is the reason why I have limited my topics to other things that I find silly and annoying.

But after seeing excerpts of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s apologetic speech and reading newspaper articles on the Gloria Gate issue, I figured that what has recently transpired is absolutely no different from the absurdness I’ve written on the topic of stupid ads, local TV shows, and ridiculous pop culture.

I got a copy of the lengthy controversial wiretaps of the President (or voice of a woman presumed to be President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) and the Comelec Official (or voice of a man presumed to be Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano) just a day or two after it really started spreading around. But by the time I did get it there were already transcripts of the wiretap conversations available in the net.

Being a 30-year-old Filipino, almost nothing surprises me anymore these days. Although I strive to retain much of the idealism I have absorbed throughout the years, I believe I am old enough to really accept certain realities about the immediate world I live in. Environmental degredation, poverty, corruption, etc. But in spite of that, after hearing the wiretaps of the president that suggested nothing less than electoral fraud, my heart simply sank!

I remember shutting my eyes and cringing after hearing the familiar voice in the wiretap say, “Will I still lead by more than 1M overall?” and the other person later responding, “Pipilitin po natin yan” (We will strive to make that happen).

In spite the nation's clamor for an explanation on the issue, the president has chosen to silently ignore the sharp yet simple questions thrown at her, saying that she will not glorify the issue by commenting. In other speeches she goes as far as mentioning how the entire thing was just an attempt to bring her administration down.

But last Monday, the walls came tumbling down, the silence was broken and the truth finally came out. She openly admitted what the entire country already knew; she was indeed the voice on the wiretaps.

While she did say, “I am sorry” and “I recognize that making any such call was a lapse in judgment”, she stubbornly stood her ground saying that she did nothing wrong and would still not resign.

Though I am partly glad that she has finally admitted being the voice in the taps, I do not in anyway applaud her honesty. I do not admire her guts for telling the truth, it was that very same gut that got her in this mess in the first place. Does anybody even buy that forced sad look on her face as she delivered her apologetic speech to the nation? Having waited this long, she obviously took time to carefully study and perhaps even rehearse everything she had to say.

Innocence is never rehearsed.

To have her speech followed up by wanting to “close this chapter and move on with the business of governing” is a little too condescending. You don’t cheat on a nationwide election and expect the people to just go on with their normal lives! You don’t screw someone over and say, “Sorry dude, my bad! I slept with your wife, and it was definitely a lapse in judgment. Now let’s put this adulterous chapter in our friendship behind and move on. Say, you want to go out for pizza? My treat!”

The way I see it, this safely delivered and carefully thought of apologetic admission speech only opens an ugly can of worms. Though it has answered the most pressing question, it left dangling a lot of others. Her leaving a gray area by not pinpointing Garcillano in her speech just made everybody in the Commission of Elections seem dirty. Plus her stand on not influencing the votes by talking to a Comelec official was just plain stupid!

I know how the Philippines have had its unfair share of crooked politicians, that’s common knowledge. But hearing how blatant and casually it goes on really saddens me. More so how it stretches all the way up to the highest office in the land.

So what now? What do we do? Who can we trust?

Ok Mrs. President, I have always believed that change in this country begins with me. I will move on. I will leave this chapter behind. But know that with any crime, there are consequences. Know that even people who have little interest in politics are not completely stupid. Know that I love my family and I love this screwed up country we call our home enough to not remain indifferent. Know that there are lots of us who feel the same way. You’ve personally bared witness to how the people unite, I just hope you realize that and do the right thing before things get a little too out of hand.