Moral cowardice, decadence

Echoes From

BY JOHNNY DAYANG

President Rodrigo Duterte’s victory in last year’s presidential elections was less than an absolute majority, but was so stunning and phenomenal that many leaders of other political parties trooped to Davao City to pledge him their support, even if he did not bother to attend his official proclamation. 

Many politicos in fact immediately jumped ship and boarded the PDP-LABAN bandwagon. Several congressmen and senators readily joined the super-majority coalitions in the House of Representatives and the Senate even without an invitation.

Now that the victory’s euphoria has started to fade and his leadership is embroiled in serious controversies on crucial issues, many turncoats are now bothered by their decisions. Some of the 10 senators who voted for the hearing of Arturo Lascanas’ testimony on the Davao Death Squad now opt to distance themselves from the Duterte administration.

Former Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said his LP colleagues who joined the House super-majority will vote according to their conscience on the death penalty measure, which clearly indicates they cannot be coerced to support the administration’s stand on some fundamental issues. 

The Catholic Church has strongly condemned the serial summary killing of drug suspects whose number has now lately reached close to 8,000. The surreptitious burial of the remains of strongman President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani has outraged not only victims of the martial law atrocities and abuses, but even the millennials who were born after the Edsa I event. While many still have confidence in Digong, they are quietly disturbed by his brutal anti-illegal drugs war. 

Some distinguished retired military officers I had an informal huddle with recently, expressed grave concern over the serious implications of Duterte’s pivot to China and Russia and his dalliance with the CPP-NPA. They are also perplexed by what they see as his skewed anti-drugs war priorities and strategy, and suggest he goes after the illegal drugs manufacturers and suppliers and not the small-time pushers and users.

A media friend who is a politics and history buff offers this candid observation: “What ails our country today is no longer the drug menace and widespread corruption but moral cowardice and decadence.” 

Many ordinary citizens who voted for President Duterte now regret they did. The President has unnecessarily been creating many enemies and confronting issues he could simply ignore, at heavy political costs. (Tempo)