When I took up a course in Philippine constitution, it was stressed that the country has always these 4 basic constituent elements that would make up the Constitution of a country. The four elements of a State are: People, territory, government and sovereignty. I believe that in framing a Charter, one should consider making provisions that would protect these 4 elements.
A week after my operation, while I was watching the news on television, I learned that Makati Trial Court was set to announce the verdict on the “Nicole case” that day. When the very hour came and when the clerk of court was reading the verdict, I nearly fell from my bed with full of joy and hope that again the wheels of justice in the country was really moving and we still have independent minded people in robes in our judiciary. I really clapped my hands when the judge denied the request for the transfer of custody of Smith. It was a joyous occasion in the history of justice in the country.
I really felt great joy upon hearing a judge stand against the pressures of “Big Brother”. It was a triumph of Philippine sovereignty. It seems that the Philippine flag boldly sway with the wind over and above the star-spangled banner of the US.
But all the jubilations came to a halt when our dear president and her men circumvented the decision of the Court and turned over Smith to US custody. The beautiful Court of Appeals also gave its ambiguous declaration on the transfer of Smith. It seems that there is a “dark force” that is trying to manipulate the people in the Philippines. It really saddens me to note that all the efforts for the justice system to be cleansed in the eye of the public, a single act of the president’s men destroyed the cleansing process.
However, it is clear that we have judges who could still have the balance of the justice scale with covered eyes. In short, we still have impartial and principled men in the judiciary.
Today, it seems that our leaders are under a spell. One “big fish’ in the palace was quoted saying that the transfer bore better fruits by having the resumption of the “Balikatan” exercises. This is a great slap and a very clear indication that really the government is being blackmailed by the US.
I am now at a loss, I could no longer reconcile what I have learned in my social studies class. Do we still have these four elements? It seems that even the territory has also been given up. It seems that the Philippines becomes now a territory of the others.
People has also changed. We would like to go out of the country while other nationalities want to stay in the country. Look at our streets, it is full of Asians. Even our entertainment industry is catering to the Koreans and Japanese people. This is a value which should be stopped and let our young people feel how to be a real Filipino and not a half-baked uncooked cookie.
I dream one day that the Filipinos will wake up and really feel how to be a Filipino. I hope that they will stop going into places abroad and really work within the country. I pray that our capitalists will really give more to their workers and turn profit into lives of the poor.
We should keep quiet about government. It seems that the Philippine government has totally lost its identity. It is experiencing identity crisis. It should be changed properly to suit the needs of the people. There is really a need to change the people running our government. Simple provisions of the Constitution could not be interpreted well by people sitting on high chairs in air-conditioned rooms of government offices. Shall we allow them to continue with their escapade?
Good bye, Philippine sovereignty and welcome foreign intervention again.
St. Ezekiel Moreno and Pope John Paul II, pray for us.
by Carlos Legaspi, Jr.