Buencamino does political analysis for Action for Economic Reforms. This piece was published in the newspaper Today, 2 September 2004, page 9.
Some days you’re the dog, and some days you’re the hydrant.-Unknown
I think the senator displayed her wit once again when she chose adressed-up pile of garbage, Smoky Mountain, as the place to uncoverwhat lies beneath the man.
It is such an apt metaphor for someone who came off as Mr. Clean whileheading a quasi-military organization that earned the reputation ofbeing the country’s biggest criminal syndicate. This was someone whoportrayed himself as a Professional Soldier while the quasi-militaryorganization he led went on a 14 year rampage of torture and salvage;someone who became the prototype for Angelo Reyes when he accepted,while on duty, an invitation to join the mutiny against hisCommander-in-Chief; someone who, as Chief of Staff, dealt with anattempted coup by punishing mutineers with push-ups— sending a clearwarning to all future putschists that he was not going to treat mutinylightly.
This is someone who, as secretary of defense, credited himself withquashing a series of coups he should have aborted in the first place;someone who ran for President and won in an election that gavetrue meaning to the term “dagdag-bawas.” Someone whosepro-investment policies attracted the Thais to invest in Manila Bayreclamation and independent power producers to build powerplants; someone who built an expo center on an abandoned US air base;someone who morphed a mountain of garbage into a multibilliondevelopment and reclamation project where a new harbor terminal withouta permanent customs outpost was built, boosting the confidence ofimporters who got the free trade message loud and clear; someone whoconstructed low-cost condos on narrow strips of land abutting railroadtracks.
Yes, this is someone whose budget secretary said that the payment forthe sale of a military reservation was in there somewhere; someone whoplayed in golf courses that sprouted like mushrooms in places where hismilitary brass pissed away the soldiers’ retirement funds; someone whopresided over a Mad Hatters economic boom that passed off sizzle andampaw as steak and potatoes; someone who appointed himself adviser tohis successors; someone who punished his successor for not evenfeigning interest for his unsolicited advice; someone whose response toa Senator’s privilege speech was to turn it into a pissing contest.
With perseverance and a lot of luck, the Senator might just show everyone who’s the dog and who’s the hydrant this time.
Go Miriam!
Yorumlar