Mr. Buencamino writes political commentaries for Action for Economic Reforms. This article was published in the Opinion Section, Yellow Pad Column of BusinessWorld, September 26, 2005 edition, page 6/S1.

Rene Saguisag is angry at you for wondering out loud which God Cory Aquino and her friends pray to. He called you mga anak ng Diyos. Pagpasensyahan mo na lang si Saguisag. At least he didn’t call you mga anak ng jueteng.

You have to understand that people like Rene and Cory  were led to believe there is only one God and that He stands for truth, justice, and fair play.

You and I know better. We read history, they didn’t  so they never learned about  all those gods we inherited from ancient civilizations.  They are not aware that  there is a god for every convenience and that those gods are available at  7-Elevens.

Cory and company were also led to believe in heaven and hell. Thus, they are afraid to stray from the “straight and narrow” . They try to live “good” lives, as though a life of  honesty, selflessness, and humility was really good and the “good life” was bad. They are so gullible.

Intelligent  people like us don’t deal in hypotheticals like heaven or hell . We don’t live in fear of a “final” judgment or any judgment at all. We don’t trek on straight and narrow paths, we cruise on autobahns. Well that’s not our fault, some are smarter than others.

Having said that and hopefully establishing my credentials as sharing your religion,  I make a few observations about your comment regarding Cory and company.  Let me assure you that I mean well ; and I don’t mean that as a pun on my name, Manuel.

You have to be original in this electronic age. With information available at the click of a mouse, no one can get away with stealing routines anymore. You have to learn how to disguise what you copy if you don’t want to hear comments like, “luma na yan” or , even worse, “those words came out of his mouth but he’s not the one who’s doing the talking.”

You see, I was not the onIy who noticed  something unoriginal with that, “which God are they praying to?” spiel.  That routine does not come from ancient history; that comes from current events, although I grant  that it is somehow connected to ancient lands  and people.

“I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real god and his was an idol.”  That was Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin boasting about his victory over a Muslim warlord in ancient Somalia.

“God told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, …”  That was Boykin’s Commander in Chief telling his people why he leveled the ancient land of Mesopotamia.

Heck, we can find dozens more of those types of  “my God is better than yours” taunts from American televangelicals, but why bother?  We have our own god quote-boy here at home.

“It’s very clear that her (Susan Roces) husband was not destined to be president because he died of natural causes.”  That was our brother Raul Gonzalez reminding Susan Roces and company how one of our Gods dealt with an irritant like Fernando Poe Jr.

Our Gods are the wind behind our backs and our protective armor. They guide our allies in Congress, shield  our president, Jose Pidal,  M1, and M2,  and  safeguard Garci.

I’m sorry but I have to close.  You see, I’m babysitting Rosemary’s baby, and I have to have her washed for this evening’s Black Mass.

Oh, one last thing before I go. Something’s been bothering me and I hope you can help.  “Are our Gods more powerful than that tape they have?”