| President Susan Roces? By Antonio C. Abaya Written Dec. 19, 2004 For the Manila Standard December 23 issue Suppose two million people or more show up for the funeral of FPJ on Dec.22 (I write this on Dec. 19), in a spontaneous outpouring of love for the departed icon and grief over his sudden death, matching or even exceeding the massive turnout for Ninoy Aquino�s funeral in August 1983. And suppose that in the next few days and weeks after the funeral, the crowds are whipped up to a frenzy by the usual suspects to demand, not a recount of the seriously flawed results of the May 10 elections nor the speedy resolution of the pending electoral protest, but a snap presidential election, as in 1985-86. And suppose that in this choreographed replay of EDSA 1, a grieving widow is, as in 1985-86, thrust to center stage as the leader of the opposition to an incumbent president whose personal popularity is plummeting down as fast as the cost of living is going up. Are we ready for a President Susan Roces? Ready or not, here she comes, with the subtlety of an enraged bull. Said she: �Masama ang loob ko sa inyo, Channel 2,� accusing it of bias in its coverage of her husband�s presidential campaign, citing instances when Ch. 2 cameramen took only �tight shots� designed to give the impression that FPJ�s rallies were not well attended. �You did not show the crowd, you weren�t showing the people,� she complained. She angrily asked what had become of those who had besmirched her husband�s name. �What has been the punishment of those who faked (my husband�s) birth certificate� to purportedly show that he was not a natural-born Filipino and therefore not qualified to run for president? �I have no regrets that he joined politics,� she said, but I�m angry that they thought so little of my husband.� She said she was particularly hurt when FPJ was allegedly referred to as a �mere actor� by columnist Max Soliven. (Inquirer, Dec. 17). �Marami akong gustong ipagpatuloy na alam kong gustong gawin ng aking asawa, pero para personal na ambisyon, wala akong ganoon. Palagay ko yan ang dahilan kaya nagkakaganito tayo ngayon. (�I want to continue many things that my husband wanted to do, but I have no personal ambition. Perhaps that is why we have become like this.�) �Katulad nang mga nasabi ko nuon , pag ninakawan ka ng pera, madali. Pwede namang kikitain mo ulit yon. Pero pag ninakawan ka nang pangarap, di mo na mababalik yon.� (�As I have often said, if you are robbed of money, it is easy to recover it by working. But if you are robbed of your dreams, you cannot recover it.�) These are fighting words, all the more eloquent and touching because they were uttered, apparently spontaneously, in a moment of inconsolable grief. Ms. Roces has surprised everyone by her candid and articulate expression of her innermost feelings, without the benefit of a prepared statement from any publicist. She has shown not only amazing grace but wounded dignity tempered with regal bearing that can spring only from the basic decency of her being. The lady has class. Vowing that she will not keep quiet from now on, Ms. Roces said she would be �the voice of the people� but �only as a private person�..All I want is for us to come together to continue whatever his dreams were for all of us. And like he said once, let us not lose hope because it is possible that hope is the only thing we have now.� This is a very political statement to make, even in the context in which it was said and despite her disclaimer that she had any intentions of entering politics. Add to this her very here-and-now dagger thrown at the incumbent government: �Ang question ko, ano ba ang ginagawa nila sa mga nasirang tulay sa Quezon? (My question is, what are they doing about the washed-out bridges in Quezon?) Sending relief goods is not enough. What have they done about illegal logging�.� (Inquirer, Dec. 17) Or her expressed �plan to help the weather bureau improve its service by getting better equipment. She said many deaths from typhoons could be avoided with better weather forecasts�..� (Today, Dec. 17.) A former director of the weather bureau, when recently asked on ANC 21 how much it would cost to upgrade the bureau�s equipment, said, �P100 million.� Only a sitting president would have command of and access to that kind of money. These are not the words of a retiring widow who wants to fade into the sunset. They are the words of an angry political person on the stump and in the attack mode. Meeting with ten young members of the Lower House, Ms. Roces said: �My personal goal is to unearth the truth (about the May 10 elections). Then we can proceed with whatever has to be done��.Nobody will tell us to shut up.� (An obvious reference to a note passed to Rep. Didagen Dilangalen by a woman spectator impatient with the slow pace of the congressional tabulation of the certificates of canvass.. �And nobody will say, �Noted��, in reference to then co-chair of the congressional canvass, now Justice Secretary, Raul Gonzales, who replied �Noted� to every objection of the opposition �And also we will not proclaim like a thief in the night, in an hour when everyone is sleeping,� in reference to the proclamation of President Arroyo as re-elected president, in the wee hours of the pre-dawn night. And finally: �My heart was bleeding when I was watching the canvass in the halls of Congress. What a sorry sight (you were)�.All of you, most of you, you spent so much time to go to school, to study law, to study how to behave properly. How sad�.and the world was able to watch us. This is the cause that I�m fighting for � to redeem the pride of the Filipino in the eyes of the world�. �All of you will someday run (again) for a position. All of you have the fear of being cheated. We must put a stop to it. So much is being spent because of all the cheating. And that�s why our government is corrupt � because we are forced to corruption, to be able to serve that very long.� Ms. Roces said her husband�s fight �to unearth the truth� was not for himself alone. It is to put a stop to this very dirty politics, to put some pride back in public service��.�(All quotes from the PD Inquirer, Nov. 18.) Mag-ingat sa ASO Sen. Edgardo Angara was the first to float the idea of Ms. Roces inheriting the mantle of her husband as leader of the opposition, a float that was hooted down as premature and derided as Angara�s maneuver to pre-position himself as her possible Little President, as he had previously pre-positioned himself to be Little President to FPJ, as indeed he was, earlier, to Joseph Estrada. Susan Roces� desire to restore pride in public service, to redeem the image of the Filipino in the eyes of the world, will appeal to a much wider audience than her and her late husband�s masa constituency. The battered but all-important middle class will flock to her colors in droves because they see in her not only her fundamental honesty and sincerity, but also her ability to articulate with uncommon eloquence the same anger, disgust and frustration that they feel against the rotten political system, an eloquence that her late husband was not blessed with. We may be witnessing a historic turning point in our political development: the probable end of trapo politics, and the probable beginning of real democratic politics, unsullied by the sordid hands of predatory trapos or the corrosive hate-mongering of manipulative communists. It all depends on Susan Roces. Can she maintain her purity of heart and nobility of purpose amidst the jaded cynicism, the plastic insincerity, the habitual dishonesty, the stark absence of moral principles, the overwhelming presence of grabbing selfishness, in our cannibalistic trapo politics? We all hope so. Already warnings are being sent out by the text brigades: Mag-ingat sa ASO. Figure out for yourself who the ASO are. Keeping ALL politicians, not just the ASO, out of FPJ�s funeral services sets the right tone for her emerging political crusade.. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �President Susan Roces?� So what if Susan Roces accepts the challenge of running for president of the Philippines? Listening to her fiery spirit, I can see a woman ready to take any challenge to prove her worth and doing better as she is moved by love and appreciation for what she has discovered her husband has been doing during his earthly existence that has endeared him to many. But why speculate and not wait for Susan to make up her mind on whether or not to pursue what her husband has started that she can do even without getting into politics? Susan Roces emphatically said that she would like to be alone for some time to gather her thoughts and reminisce the 36 years she had "together with her husband." It would be cruel and uncharitable to be offering her anything at this time of her bereavement and grief. Although I thought she was a different breed when I heard her frank replies to the GMA7 interviewer, another woman president would be disastrous to the Philippines, especially not one who is grieving still for her husband and has an axe to grind. Besides, though I, myself, belong to the weaker sex, I believe that at times like this, the Philippines need a male hand to take the reins of government, not a female president who would not like to walk in the mud even just for the usual photo-op. It would be an insult to veteran politicians like Senator Pimentel for example to drum into the heads of Filipinos, especially those desperate to kick out the present occupant of Malacanang, that none can fill thevoid of genuine leadership but Susan Roces. If Susan wants to serve her country and people, she can do that even without becoming a president. On the other hand, if she capitulates like her husband before her to led the opposition versus the incumbent in some snap election, etc., at least we are assured that there will be no greedy and opportunistic FG running the show from behind with his kin, cronies and friends in meaty positions in the government. Still, I would opt for these people to leave Susan Roces with her fond memories of her dearly beloved FPJ. Yuko Takei, [email protected] Tokyo, Japan, December 24, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww This is again the time to educate the masses before any snap election. Reasoning by emotion is a dangerous thing. Ms. Roces may be honest (as all politicians start their careers) but is she prepared to take the job of a president as effectively as she tries to project? If she can stop some interest group, like the likes of the Little President, then she is starting to prove her credibility. The fact she touched the topic of upgrading the weather bureau's equipment in the tune of P100 million without citing how she plans to finance this project shows that this is big talk. People are no longer Pollyannas. Remember the lady is still grieving. She needs more time to blosoom and maybe she can be considered as a Senatorial candidate, first. To be fair she may have potentials as a leader, but she should be patient and take time to prove herself. This is too soon and too much to tackle the job of a president. Adelina P. Sampang, [email protected] December 24, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: Susan Roces has indeed been a breath of fresh air in the poisoned atmosphere of Philippine society. Even more remarkable is that her spontaneous observations and eloquent statements were made in her hour of grief. Tempering the fire of her anger against her tormentors with the logic of having to communicate to all of us, her words hit home, indicting the GMA government and traditional politicians for unconscionable profligacy in the face of widespread national suffering. She has become, in an instant, a nation's voice. What she articulated resonates. She didn't say, "Tama Na!" to our false leaders, but she might as well have said so. Because when she asked questions that exposed their dereliction of duties (with the Quezon bridge and with the document forger, for instance) and when she warned ("may atraso ka, bumusina ka muna"), her meaning was clear: Enough is enough! Also, Susan's anger also showed another fact: the one person who had the heart and patience to work with the present system to gradually, bloodlessly bring about changes that could move the Philippine away from the precipice and into the light was gone. FPJ showed this in many instances during and after his ill-starred presidential quest - in his rejecting tainted campaign contributions, in his many admonitions to Susan for patience and even in filing the electoral protest and attending post-election rallies. It was a pity that it took his death for many of us to realize how real FPJ's commitment was to help the country. But Susan's demeanor also suggests that there are still many things we can do and must do so that the change will come. First, let's be like her and not get into politics: there's already too much of that. Second, if we are sincere, we can voice even angriest sentiments in forceful logic: that's going to be hard for those used to just kaplastikan and photo-ops. Third, let's inventory the many things that have to b done (she mentioned some of these) and tackle those we can do something about personally ASAP: in this regard, I'd like to volunteer organizing a group to inculcate entrepreneurial empowerment that can make our people less susceptible to false leaders who may promise employment dependency as a way to keep poor voters in chains (remember emergency employment and its many resurrections?). With Susan providing the inspiration, many Filipinos can now be mobilized to do the right things. This was evident in the way the funeral crowd dispersed quietly, in dignity and reverence as she requested, after paying final respects to Susan's beloved Panday. President Susan Roces? We don't need a president, as proven by GMA's words and actions. We need a person like Susan, who doesn't need a presidential pulpit toshow her care for her people. Tito Osias, [email protected] December 24, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Your last piece ("President Susan Roces?") was extremely disturbing (pardon me for doing away with the niceties). There is no doubt that FPJ deserves the "massive turnout" and "spontaneous outpouring of love". But to compare his demise to that of Ninoy Aquino, and his widow to that of Corazon Aquino, is just ridiculous. Please remember that the frenzy whipped up by Ninoy's death was backed by the knowledge that the man took serious risks for his cause and spent decades defending it against real odds: imprisonment, exile, assassination. His widow couldn't have been as innocent as she was played out to be at the time. She did, after all, stand by him. Da King passed away of a heart attack. It is downright stupid to blame his death on anyone. Yes, he was apparently a well-meaning and generous person -- but heart attacks choose no political colors -- painting his death this way robs it of its dignity. It casts doubt on the sincerity of his good deeds. It erases the possibility (in my mind, at least) that he would have kept on fighting for his cause despite being deprived of the presidency (which would have been the measure of a real cause-oriented man). Yes, Susan Roces was riveting in her moment of grief. As are most human beings dealing with loss. But did everyone else miss out on the vindictiveness of her eloquence? That despite her insistence on pursuing her cause as a "private person", she launched into a very political tirade? If that was not a picture of a confused state of mind, we need to decrust our eyes. The lady should have been left to mourn in dignity. To catch her in her moment of grief and use her loss-driven angry statements to stir up an already confused citizenry is (i lack your erudition, so pardon the less than potent vocabulary) shameful, exploitative and insulting -- both to her and the intended --er -- manipulees (?). It forces her hand, it robs her of her sobriety, it sullies the memories of a lifetime with the departed with the grime generated by political machinery. Our collective memory is getting shorter and shorter. This is something that should be taken into consideration before shoving the regal and dignified Susan Roces into an arena that desperately needs sobriety. Why must "the voice of the people" always be portrayed as angry, grief-drunk, and illogical? Can it never be a thinking, sober and logical voice? Is there no cause that calls on us to use our heads to put our hearts in perspective? Must we always be condemned to collectively put our foot in our mouth? Can't we just think on the sordid cause-of-the-moment first before babbling en masse? Because if your piece's prophecy were to become reality, and the state of our collective memory being what it is, then poor Susan Roces is being condemned to a future that will rob her of her purity, her dignity -- and become just another handy ill-thought decision that "the voice of the people" can bark at. It's a shameful thing to do to a grieving widow. May Zayco, [email protected] December 24, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww HI, Tony I don't think Susan would become or would desire to become President, but my forecast is that she will be the Sonia Gandhi of the Philippines. She will not take power for herself, but will exert tremendous political and moral authority of who will take power. Best regards, Toti Chikiamco, [email protected] December 26, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dreams can�t be taken from anybody, it is always in you. Anything that is not tangible can�t be stolen like knowledge. And that quote of Mrs. Roces is bitterness trying to blame others for the failures of her husband. This is the sickness of Filipino people: they blame others for their failures. Alexander Carranceja, [email protected] Kuwait, December 26, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww |
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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Thank you for this one, Tony. You are right, Ms Susan has the touch of class. She has the classic look of Spanish aristocracy, one that demands respect, one that the masa have been habitually subservient. Never mind the popularity of her husband FPJ, never mind her own movie popularity. Many have them. But the kind of class in her that the masa, the middle class, and the elite identifies with is seldom found in any other Filipino. It is an attractive force that could be harnessed for the good of the Filipino. Walang katangian yata ang nararapat ngayon kundi yong naisulat ninyo kay Ms Susan. Tapos na ang mga tipong Marcos-Ramos-Estrada at mga Aquino-Macapagal. Naiiba na ang katangiang hinahanap ng tao. Sana naman, kumalat itong pambihirang "insight" ninyo sa isang leader na katumbas ng pangangailangan ngayon ng ating bayan. Merry Christamas and a Happy New Year to you Tony! May you live til the dawning of a new day for the Filipino. A day that Ms Susan hopefully will bring. Ogie Reyes, [email protected] December 27, 2004 . wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww |
| Dear Mr. Abaya, Unknowingly, Ms. Roces distanced herself from the avid ABS-CBN viewers and listeners with her lamentations on Channel 2. Her accusation of ABS-CBN's bias in its coverage of her husband's presidential campaign is understandable, but for her comment that no one is listening to the network , that surely resulted in a negative reaction (lost of sympathy, if you will) from the viewers of the mentioned TV station. Rey Abella, [email protected] Tarlac, December 27, 2004 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Thanks for sharing your thoughts and convictions. I read your column everyday and it makes me look at each tomorrow with the assurance that "DIOS ES GRANDE". Please know that you are always in my daily prayers. Susan Roces (Jesusa Sonora) was my student at La Consolacion College in Bacolod. She was a sophomore in high school. She was a good student: bright, humble and ALWAYS ready to "obey" and follow instructions/directions with a smile. I can not remember having seen her with a long face nor witnessed her moments of "bad mood". She was the cover girl in our monthly school paper (The Ripples) for the month of October and she was shown praying the holy rosary. What a beautiful angelic face - a reflection of a beautiful soul! Thank for your article written 19December 04 for the Manila Standard December 23 issue. You wrote: "The lady has class." How very true, Tony. Thank you again. Norma Bitanga-Regidor, [email protected] California, December 28, 2004 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |