In yesterday’s TV Patrol, classmates/schoolmates of Gloria Arroyo from Assumption were interviewed. All of those who were interviewed defended her vigorously. So vigorous, in fact, that one of them almost showed she listens to one of those radio stations.

“It hurts! It hurts!” she blurted.

I almost expected her to continue “It hurts, you know!”

Anyway, just one thought for these ladies. You get wrinkles over time, right? So is it impossible for a person to change over time? How can you be so sure that the girl you knew before is still the same person now? Defend her all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that this country is nearing scorched earth status because your classmate-who-did-not-change-since-high-school has destroyed every social and political institutions that we have.

Take the Ombudsman, for example. Merceditas Gutierrez is the current Ombudsgirl. And she is a classmate of Mike Arroyo. Nothing wrong with that, right? Fine. How about this one? Since August last year, after the NBN-ZTE scandal broke out, several personalities and groups have filed charges at the Ombudsman. And nothing happened at these charges. At all! But when Jun Lozada came out, and the Fortress began its idiotic reaction, the Ombudsgirl changed tact! Immediately, she called for a preliminary investigation. Imagine that! And she claims they have been discreetly investigating the issue. But on the first day of the hearing, there were complaints of respondents not having copies of charges! The Ombudsgirl does not have copies of Senate transcripts! Some of the respondents and complainants have not received summons!

Or how about the old, aging duo of the Presidential Legal Counsel and the Secretary of the Department of Justice? In other parts of the world, their stupid remarks could have lost them their jobs. But no! Your classmate thinks these two have their uses, so she didn’t even publicly reprimanded Sergio Apostol for his racist remarks. The same for Raul Gonzalez for his sh*t remarks about anything.

How about the Office of the Press Secretary? Do you still remember Ignacio Bunye’s “I have two discs, the original and the fake?” And then Gonzalez threatens those who will play the Hello Garci tapes with cases! How come he has not charged Bunye, who played the discs, too?

Gloria Arroyo is (fill in the blanks, Neri) because she allows people of this caliber to remain in office, even if these people drag their offices to the estero. In other parts of the world, these people wouldn’t be employed at such positions in the first place.

Gloria Arroyo is (fill in the blanks, Neri) because she allows persecution of those who went out of their way to testify for the truth. How many more Gudanis, Balutans, and Lozadas before you can even see that?

Gloria Arroyo is (fill in the blanks, Neri) because she kills all efforts to ascertain the truth. How many impeachment attempts has she concocted for her lapdogs in the House to stamp out into oblivion? Why hide in the hideousness called EO 464 and yet claims she is clean? Why is she always claiming she did nothing wrong but does not even entertain efforts to uncover the truth? Remember Ricardo Manapat and his stupid attempt to have Fernando Poe Jr. disqualified by making a fake birth certificate?

Gloria Arroyo is (fill in the blanks, Neri) because she allows her people to peddle lies as truth. She allows the use of state resources and police power to silence potential whistleblowers. She pays lip service to good governance and transparency yet shuns every means of ascertaining the truth.

Gloria Arroyo is (fill in the blanks, Neri) because she treats human rights as if Article 3 of our Constitution does not exist. She hinders our exercise of our rights. Remember 1017? She puts mechanisms that put us on guard. See those surveillance equipment at La Salle Greenhills and St. Scholastica College? (If the reason for a camera at La Salle is to monitor traffic, then it is the wrong reason. The right solution is honest-to-heaven traffic enforcement! Such reasoning is BS.) I shudder to think when they put a camera in front of Sto. Domingo Church.

Gloria Arroyo is (fill in the blanks, Neri) because she allows her people to use threats against her critics. Remember the “we-will-unleash-BIR” text message when Makati Business Club called for her resignation? Remember Nograles threatening the removal of tax exemption of churches, because they dared to call for her resignation? Remember Mascarinas filing perjury charges against Jun Lozada’s wife, all because Lozada dared to tell what he knew? Remember Gudani and Balutan, who were court-martialed because they testified at the Senate?

Gloria Arroyo is (fill in the blanks, Neri) because she has shattered the integrity of our political institutions.

Just look around you. Just look at how you perceive our political institutions. Do you trust the Department of Justice? The Philippine National Police? Raul Gonzalez? Norberto Gonzales? Sergio Apostol? Ricardo Saludo? Prospero Nograles?

Now, dear ladies. Open your eyes now. Is she still the same girl you knew? I don’t think so.

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I am sick and tired of people saying there’s no alternative. That is just a lazy way out. For example, why not you? Yes, you! You are not an alternative? No? You mean you are not capable of anything? Is anyone not capable of anything nowadays? Goodness!

I am also sick and tired of people saying they are all the same. So are you telling me you are the same with *shudders* Raul Gonzalez? This is just another lazy way out.

What I am getting is that either (1) people are lazy nowadays or (2) creativity is dead.

The recent comments by Jaro Archbishop and Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines President Angel Lagdameo is a sad reflection of the sorry state of the CBCP nowadays. Aside from talking from hindsight, the comments have implied that the hierarchy is not inclined to support any mass movement versus Gloria Arroyo, and neither it is inclined to call for her resignation, too. Not only do conservatives have the numbers in the CBCP, most of them are known supporters of Gloria Arroyo.

Whenever the Roman Catholic hierarchy is somewhat involved in Philippine politics, I am reminded of the book Hitler’s Pope. The said book details the history of the Canon Law and how the power structure became centralized. After EDSA 2, the large archdiocese of Manila was divided into several dioceses; that is why we now have bishops of Caloocan, Cubao, Novaliches, Parañaque, Pasig, etc (see here, and here). It was said that the decision to divide the archdiocese was made in reaction to Jaime Sin’s active involvement in EDSA 2 (though Rina David disputes this view, without citing sources), and also due to the failure of Monte de Piedad (now GE Money Bank). Now, take these things into today’s context, and understand why these bishops are acting this way.

Anyway, what the good archbishop cannot say is that some of his brethrens are already compromised. Fr. Robert Reyes was not so circumspect. In national TV, he noted that some bishops are reticent in calling for Arroyo’s resignation because they are afraid the government will reduce its donations. A bishop (a known Arroyo supporter, of course) chastised Reyes for the comment. Heh.

Lagdameo calls for a people power of a new sort. Maybe what he meant is that people should no longer look at these bishops for guidance. If that is what he meant, I fully agree. Let the people decide, and let the bishops do the collecting, este their jobs pala.

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If you think the current situation is confusing, you are not alone. Just look at those Catholic bishops.

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If you are a man (or woman), and you know something that is so wrong, illegal, and damaging to someone who has all the means to wipe you out of this planet, would you reveal what you know? Jun Lozada first thought he should run. He was provided the means to do so. Yet how come he is acting that way? If you take on the mob, you know that your life is in danger; hence, the tendency to run away. Yet he came back and faced the mob.

If for that alone, I believe him more than all the Abalos, Apostol, Arroyo, Bunye, Enrile, Fajardo, Gaite, Golez, Gonzalez, Mascarinas, Neri, Razon, Saludo, and Santiago of this world.