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SEN. Joker Arroyo proclaimed himself “The People’s Dragon” at
the last elections when he allied himself with the administration as
its candidate for senator. It was, in a sense, a masterful stroke:
Arroyo stood proof indubitable that the administration meant
business in fighting corruption. Joker’s catchy slogan was
comparable to Erap’s famous “walang kamag-anak, walang kaibigan
[no relatives, no friends]” policy at the start of his doomed
presidency. Joker’s fiery cry of “Pag bad ka, lagot ka [If you
are bad, beware!],” precisely because he was Joker, and must be
taken seriously. Thus, he was re-elected senator, one of the few
administration candidates who survived the opposition-dominated
electoral contest. And why not? This was, after all, a man who once
stood in unison against tyranny with Senators Ninoy Aquino and Jose
“Ka Pepe” W. Diokno. His was the impassioned voice that
resonated in the hearts and minds of the people during impeachment
proceedings against Erap Estrada. This was a man renowned for his
brilliant mind, consistently championing the great liberties of this
democracy. The People’s Dragon, many thought, would breathe down
fire and fury upon all those who commit evil against the greater
people’s interests.
Regretfully, that impression of a fire-breathing
dragon raging with all its might and outrage against evil has
largely dissipated; many now concede it may well have been just a
mere figment of the imagination. Nowhere has that been so clearly
demonstrated than during his disturbingly biased, diffident,
irrelevant, and apparently purpose-driven interrogation of Jun
Lozada at the Senate hearings.
Jun Lozada is the initially reluctant, but now
all-focused and repentant, witness who has decided to cast his
fortune on the side of “telling the truth,” despite his clear
fears that he has—in the process—destroyed his future. Lozada is
not a saint. If he were, he would not be in a position to be witness
to corruption at the highest pinnacles of government in the first
place. But he is a man who has obviously done a lot of soul
searching and is now trying to repair the damage he may have been
privy to by doing the only good that he can do at this point, which
is to say the truth. In so doing, Lozada became the mouthpiece of
our impoverished Filipino people, confessing to the insatiable greed
of those who held the reins of governance over our people and
denouncing such diabolism. But his destiny now remains at the mercy
of the winds of change in our national misfortunes. Raising a
heartbroken cry to our people, he asks that we return, despite the
entrenchment of greed in national leadership that has trickled down
to almost all government bureaus, to righteous and honest
governance. He asks us to tear open the heavens, and free ourselves
from the shackles of our sinful habits, and shows us that by ending
the insatiable greed of our incumbent leaders, we can end our own
disappointments and frustrations with government.
When Joker Arroyo questioned Lozada’s motives
in granting a press interview with ABS-CBN Network, Lozada merely
answered that he welcomed interviews and, in fact, gave interviews
to other television companies including GMA Network. When Arroyo
accused Lozada of bias for having discussed matters with
oppositionist senator Panfilo Lacson, Lozada rebutted that he
actually discussed these same matters with Joker Arroyo’s wife
when he was brought by Tony Abaya to their private residence.
Angered, because he was surprised that Lozada had talked to his
wife, Arroyo arrogantly accused him of “implicating every Tom,
Dick and Harry.” Lozada stressed he was merely proving his good
faith and fairness in informing as many media networks and senators
willing to listen to him. Also, he has only implicated, not every
Tom, Dick and Harry, but specifically Joey (Amsterdam Holdings
President Jose de Venecia Jr.), Benjie (Comelec Chairman Benjamin
Abalos) and Romy (NEDA Director Romulo Neri). Interestingly enough,
Arroyo showed no interest in divining the truth concerning the
Lozada affair. He was obviously bent on short-cutting the
proceedings and destroying Lozada in the process. We ask: Why? Since
he claimed to be the People’s Dragon, who promised to slay the
“bad people” in our midst, we rightly expected more.
It now appears that the only person today who
has been persevering in exposing truth and attacking the evils and
corruption within society is, not the People’s Dragon Joker Arroyo
but, the humble whistleblower Jun Lozada. Having gone through the
worst, Lozada has now crossed a threshold from which there is no
return. He has cast his destiny with our people as he has belatedly
found out that the shaping of our destiny for all eternity really
rests entirely within ourselves; this is what frightens us all but
we have done it twice already without much success. As a united
people, we must once again steer the direction and dictate the path
our destiny as a nation. Until our leaders get it right. Insofar as
Joker Arroyo is concerned, he is no People’s Dragon, just a joker.
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