Half-cocked
Half-cocked
Updated 02:29am (Mla time) Dec 19, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the December 19, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IN POLITICS as in ordinary life, compromise is the necessary art. But there are compromises that push people farther apart, rather than bring them closer together; concessions that give insult, rather than appease.
The trial balloon-first floated by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye -- that it was the "sense" of Malacañang to honor Fernando Poe Jr. with a National Artist award or a burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, is one such unhappy compromise.
We have a phrase for that kind of concession: consuelo de bobo, or an idiot's recompense. The whole idea is transparently an attempt to appease Poe's supporters, who still feel angry over what they see as massive cheating at the May polls. It is self-evidently a sop, to contain public discontent.
But it has done no such thing. Instead, it has led to the exact opposite, raising discontent to an ugly pitch. The public unease has affected not only those who mourn Poe's passing, but even those who do not necessarily regard Poe as the champion of the masses. Poe's loyalists see Malacañang's gesture as insincere and political, and therefore demeaning to themselves and their idol. Others see in the rush to judgment a cheapening of the honors, a lowering of the standards.
What were the President's men thinking?
Either some people close to President Macapagal-Arroyo panicked and sought an immediate solution to what they defined as a problem of appeasement. Or the same gang who couldn't shoot straight, the same people behind the President's bungled appointments or botched announcements, rushed in, half-cocked, yet again.
The reaction from those closest to Poe should have brought the trial balloon crashing down.
"Why only now? It should have been made long ago," said Conrad Poe, the actor's brother, referring to the National Artist award. He also rejected the offer to bury Poe in the national heroes' memorial, saying the plan was to bury his brother in the family plot at the North Cemetery in Manila.
The spokesman for the Poe presidential campaign also cautioned the Palace against politicizing Poe's death. "Don't ride on the wake, don't mix it with politics," House Minority Leader Francis Escudero told reporters.
Half-mast
BUT whether by accident or design, Malacañang continues to offer the poisoned fruit. Presidential Adviser on Culture Cecile Guidote-Alvarez has confidently announced that the late actor would be conferred the Presidential Medal of Merit tomorrow, creating the legal basis for an order to lower the flag to half-staff on Wednesday, the day of his burial.
"By virtue of this award, once it is given and accepted, there is therefore the honor of a half-mast. Ang luksang sambayanan ay magaganap sa [The day of national mourning will take place on the] day of the funeral. That is part of this award."
The proposal to have the flag lowered to half-staff was first raised in the House by neophyte Rep. Teofisto Guingona III of Bukidnon. In no small measure, the young Guingona owed his victory to Poe's decision naming him the official opposition candidate in a rather crowded field (which included, among others, a long-time opposition candidate running under deposed President Joseph Estrada's party). So perhaps in an excess of gratitude, Guingona argued that the lowering of the flag to half-staff was a "gesture of unity with the family in this period of mourning."
He was joined by a senior oppositionist. Sen. Edgardo Angara, the man widely perceived to have played a decisive role in convincing Poe to run, said Poe deserved the honor because he had stood out in his field.
Their position is easy to understand; they are mourning the loss of their leader, and in such a frame of mind no honor is too great for the fallen. But their view must be tempered by the requisites of law and the greater good of the public.
Alvarez et al. may be working overtime to provide the President with the legal basis, but the award they have in mind may not only be conferred; it must also be accepted. If the still-angry widow Susan Roces rejects it, where will that leave us?
Updated 02:29am (Mla time) Dec 19, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the December 19, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IN POLITICS as in ordinary life, compromise is the necessary art. But there are compromises that push people farther apart, rather than bring them closer together; concessions that give insult, rather than appease.
The trial balloon-first floated by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye -- that it was the "sense" of Malacañang to honor Fernando Poe Jr. with a National Artist award or a burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, is one such unhappy compromise.
We have a phrase for that kind of concession: consuelo de bobo, or an idiot's recompense. The whole idea is transparently an attempt to appease Poe's supporters, who still feel angry over what they see as massive cheating at the May polls. It is self-evidently a sop, to contain public discontent.
But it has done no such thing. Instead, it has led to the exact opposite, raising discontent to an ugly pitch. The public unease has affected not only those who mourn Poe's passing, but even those who do not necessarily regard Poe as the champion of the masses. Poe's loyalists see Malacañang's gesture as insincere and political, and therefore demeaning to themselves and their idol. Others see in the rush to judgment a cheapening of the honors, a lowering of the standards.
What were the President's men thinking?
Either some people close to President Macapagal-Arroyo panicked and sought an immediate solution to what they defined as a problem of appeasement. Or the same gang who couldn't shoot straight, the same people behind the President's bungled appointments or botched announcements, rushed in, half-cocked, yet again.
The reaction from those closest to Poe should have brought the trial balloon crashing down.
"Why only now? It should have been made long ago," said Conrad Poe, the actor's brother, referring to the National Artist award. He also rejected the offer to bury Poe in the national heroes' memorial, saying the plan was to bury his brother in the family plot at the North Cemetery in Manila.
The spokesman for the Poe presidential campaign also cautioned the Palace against politicizing Poe's death. "Don't ride on the wake, don't mix it with politics," House Minority Leader Francis Escudero told reporters.
Half-mast
BUT whether by accident or design, Malacañang continues to offer the poisoned fruit. Presidential Adviser on Culture Cecile Guidote-Alvarez has confidently announced that the late actor would be conferred the Presidential Medal of Merit tomorrow, creating the legal basis for an order to lower the flag to half-staff on Wednesday, the day of his burial.
"By virtue of this award, once it is given and accepted, there is therefore the honor of a half-mast. Ang luksang sambayanan ay magaganap sa [The day of national mourning will take place on the] day of the funeral. That is part of this award."
The proposal to have the flag lowered to half-staff was first raised in the House by neophyte Rep. Teofisto Guingona III of Bukidnon. In no small measure, the young Guingona owed his victory to Poe's decision naming him the official opposition candidate in a rather crowded field (which included, among others, a long-time opposition candidate running under deposed President Joseph Estrada's party). So perhaps in an excess of gratitude, Guingona argued that the lowering of the flag to half-staff was a "gesture of unity with the family in this period of mourning."
He was joined by a senior oppositionist. Sen. Edgardo Angara, the man widely perceived to have played a decisive role in convincing Poe to run, said Poe deserved the honor because he had stood out in his field.
Their position is easy to understand; they are mourning the loss of their leader, and in such a frame of mind no honor is too great for the fallen. But their view must be tempered by the requisites of law and the greater good of the public.
Alvarez et al. may be working overtime to provide the President with the legal basis, but the award they have in mind may not only be conferred; it must also be accepted. If the still-angry widow Susan Roces rejects it, where will that leave us?
posted by Dante at 2:29 PM
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