Give him a boo for Cory

Today is the 22nd anniversary of EDSA, the original one that ousted President Ferdinand Marcos. After having announced that there will be no special celebration for this day, and that it will only be a working holiday, Malacañang turned around lately and declared it a non-working one, with all the perks. Of course we suspect what led to the change of mind, but students and workers are, at least, happy that they will have a day off.

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So what if many suspect that this holiday was declared so people will be distracted from what those protesting against the graft and corruption recently revealed may stage? A holiday is a holiday, and one can spend it as he wishes. What is puzzling is that, even if today is it, and a holiday has been declared, the President herself marked it yesterday by an activity at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, with former President Fidel Ramos. What intrigued media people who covered the affair was that the President herself did not speak there, despite the fact that Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had already announced her. Ermita had to go “Ay, mali!” and called FVR instead.

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Ermita must have been sorry he did, because, instead of saying something in defense of his beleaguered boss, FVR said things that sounded much like the opposite. How come? He used to be very protective of President Arroyo, and was always behind her in past crises. This time, he talked about how there seems to be an effort to denigrate the significance of EDSA, about corrupt officials, and how to “moderate their greed” – oh, oh! – and, lamented that the apathy, greed and corruption that the first EDSA had fought are now back. But I think it was ominous when he talked about the possibility that the time might come that we will be called to “offer our lives and fortunes at the altar of freedom”. Oh Steady Eddie, just what do you mean by that?

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Anyway, commentators said the President did not seem to pay much attention to that and did not look as if she thought he could be referring to her administration. But today, the real EDSA day, which its advocates have not, so far, regretted joining, only former President Ramos will go to the EDSA shrine, while the President is said to have a mass at Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City. At least it’s a good sign that everybody is praying, and we may yet realize the truth of the statement that more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Hearing about all those masses being offered for the ongoing controversy about the NBN-ZTE affair gives us hope that we may get the truth later.

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Hearings here and hearings there. I guess those involved in them must have gotten hearing-weary already, and that is why the one called by the Department of Justice found itself with nobody present. Reports said none of those summoned, or invited, came and the officials there just cooled their heels. Later in the afternoon, Jun Lozada did come, but for another purpose – he was there to file kidnapping and attempted murder charges against those he believed were responsible for his abduction, all right, kidnapping, upon his arrival from Hongkong. Oh, we are going to see a lot more hearings in the coming days.

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It’s not surprising that Malacañang is not putting so much importance on the slip of the tongue of the President’s favorite student, Albay Governor Joey Salceda, who referred to her as a bitch in his talk at the Ateneo. Everybody there says that they know Salceda as a man with a colorful language. But should he have colored someone who is his highest boss, and even his former professor? But, if for nothing else, the slip brought him fame, or notoriety, because the news was reported by the wire services and sent around the world, where people do not know that it was colorful talk only.

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President Arroyo should not feel so bad about being called a bitch, in fact being called evil is worse. Remember, that the irreverent American TV host Jon Stewart also called the beloved Cory Aquino a “slut” on his The Today Show on TV. The former President, a true lady, chose to ignore that, knowing nobody would believe it of her. I just remembered – could Stewart have been thinking of somebody else in her family and only mistook her? By the way, is he the same Jon Stewart who will be the emcee at the Oscar Awards to be staged today? Let’s give him a boo, for Cory.*

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