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Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Editorial: Sonny’s lament
Sen. John "Sonny" Osmeña is really in a bind.
His son John Gregory, better known as John-john, the vice governor, rejected his advice not to consort with Sonny's political rival, Gov. Pablo Garcia, and not to run for governor but for congressman.
John-john soon severed political ties with Garcia and his daughter Gwen, now competing against him in the race for governor, but he has not given up his passion to become governor.
At first, it looked as if father and son had reconciled. Many think they actually did. The father adjusted alliances and "modified" commitments (among them, his promise to support a third candidate for governor, former congressman Celestino Martinez Jr.). Blood would prevail and Sonny would support John-john although not as openly as they and their supporters wish.
Then came the Perdido Lex scam in which Capitol lost about P5 million to a foundation that existed only on paper. John-john was not directly linked to the fraud but his help through his aides and his own intervention (at one time ordering in writing the cashier to pay despite apparent defects) enabled the Perdido Lex group to run away with the money.
Now this furor over the confiscated P5.4 billion shipment of pseudoephedrine, an essential ingredient of shabu making, in an aborted smuggling attempt.
John-john has denied involvement, as he did in the Perdido Lex case, but documents show names of people connected to him as friends or employees and suspected participants in the Perdido Lex scandal.
Whether this is an elaborate frame-up or not, John-john is in a hellish situation. He may eventually be cleared in a court of law but public opinion is shaping up to reject him in the elections in May.
The campaign season is a bad time to be dragged to a controversy that casts serious doubt on one's fitness for public office. John-john must know that. His father, a more astute politician, surely does.
That's why Sonny has come out in public, asking for a speedy resolution of the case that can also hurt his reelection to the Senate.
The senator summed up his quandary in apt and stirring Bisaya:
"Pait kaayo sa usa ka ginikanan kansang anak gikatahapang nakalapas sa balaod. Dautan ka kon imong talikdan, labaw kang dautan kon imong panalipdan. (It's bitterly painful for a parent whose child is suspected of violating the law. You are bad if you abandon him. You are worse if you defend him.)"
Lost in the translation is the sound, color and nuance of the Bisaya original, but they equally evoke the pain.
Drama (or amard in deprecating street talk)?
Maybe, but even politicians share the joys and griefs of parenthood.
And many people, including those on the opposite side of the political battle, can empathize with Sonny's lament.
(March 24, 2004 issue)
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