Wednesday, October 01, 2008 Mercado: Animal Planet By Ram Mercado First Person
YOU can say that again -- the Provincial Government, by reason of the political stench obtaining, is in deep shit.
To play up the theme of the Capitol being nearly buried in organic fertilizer, running priest Robert Reyes should have used special night soil from nearby Mansgold community in Barangay Sto. Niño where fresh and dried droppings of the informal settlers is abundant for whatever purpose, especially Fr. Reyes's ritual exorcism.
Fr. Reyes instead chose and blessed throwing stones (a Muslim rite to drive the devil away) during his celebrated appearance in the Capitol. A mound of Mansgold manure would have driven his message loud and clear with unmistakable and revolting odor.
For that's how every cabalen, from governor to all elective provincial officials, and all those involved in this "shameful and shameless" exercise should be reminded of as they pass the portals of the Capitol.
Stung by the pro-Panlilio tirades of the running priest, the Provincial Board, in knee-jerk reaction, declared Fr. Reyes a persona non grata.
The same Board, however, has not reacted to the national newspaper's insult and calumny branding the recall initiative as shameful and shameless.
This is the kind of organic fertilizer that our officials are immersed in, with their misplaced patriotism from one side to stubborn inflexibility on the other. The mutual rancor has caused endless frustration on the Board, continued powerlessness on the Governor.
The ongoing Recall movement is nothing but a badly-veiled cover up for the continuation of the 2007 elections.
Supporters of the defeated gubernatorial bet, naturally with the approval of the party of interest, wanted Panlilio to submit himself to a new election to vindicate the loss of their patron by a shockingly slim margin.
The Recall proponents could not wait until 2010 when Panlilio will finish his term, then fight him in a regular bout rather than wage a divisive snap election barely after one year in office.
This corner picks up the cause for Panlilio every now and then not because he is a good governor or a priest but because he is a victim of bullying, coercion and maltreatment. I hate bullies anywhere.
Panlilio's predicament is not unlike an "askal" running into a pack of dogs in the neighborhood. The strange dog that ventured in another canine turf gets mauled by a lead dog in the area. Soon all the dogs in the vicinity ganged up on the helpless but fighting askal. This Capitol pit bull breed is disguised as an "askal".
The instinct of the neighborhood dogs is not unlike that of the Provincial Board. It appears that their courage emanates from their superiority in numbers.
This is true in any setting. The gang in the corner finds instant courage in numbers. On a one-on-one basis, it is seldom that a punk engages a passing stranger in an honorable fight.
Governor Panlilio finds himself in this unique and pitiable situation. The priest in him abhors violent physical resistance, and is loath to trade insult for insult or engage in verbal abuse and gutter language.
His foes and critics take advantage of his limitation and decency to fight back knowing that Panlilio is hampered by his priestly discipline of non-violence and gentility. They get emboldened by his generally passive resistance.
I was just amusing myself the other day in Discovery Channel where a pack of hungry lions hunted down a buffalo that got separated from his herd.
One lion struck at the animal's soft underbelly, his jaws gripped tightly to inflict the initial wound. The buffalo fought back with his horns, but another lion dug his teeth in his behind. Staggering to get off the two predators, the buffalo finally knelt struggling and fell down. The mother lion went for the jugular.
Pinned down helpless he was unable to ward off the assault; .the animal was mortally wounded. Soon the cheetahs arrived, waiting for their turn on the prey. Snickering hyenas were circling the area; wolves bayed, and the sky darkened with vultures to have a piece of the carcass.
As I survey the current political jungle in Pampanga today, I can read how varying organizations, newly improvised associations, petty politicians who are in or out of office who billed themselves public servants, are closing on the embattled priest-governor. The old enemies are pressing on for the kill.
Many local politicians who can almost smell blood in this Recall movement gravitate near the gory scene, to lay claim on whatever piece of carcass they can get as their reward for their effort.
Another time I saw a similar film on Animal Planet. This time it was the hungry vultures that quarreled over the left-over carcass of a reindeer.
