PARADOXICAL

Wanted: A Unifying Figure

(No thanks to sowers of division, the Philippines is now 3 to 5 different countries crying out for a unifying figurehead.)

Yesterday's rallies in the NCR illustrated in full view the multiple fragmentation of Philippine society. Unlike major rallies of yesteryears, there were, in fact, at least 4 competing rallies: one at EDSA Shrine ("Trillion Peso March"), another at Camp Aguinaldo near Corinthian Gardens, another in Luneta (should I remind everyone that it is officially called Rizal Park?), and another one at the Mendiola-Recto area, very near Malacañang Palace, let us point out.

All disparate segments of our society were there, politically speaking, from extreme left to center to extreme right, gathering together and crashing into each other quite literally. (Reminds me of that movie about New York City titled what else but "Crash.")

These multiple divisions are reflected in various posts on Facebook, with their ideas meeting and then clashing at the comment boxes. If you don't know where to stand, it is so easy to get lost. If you are currently noncommittal and open-minded like a potential MLM downline, then you are faced with the job of a surveyor -- listening to all sides for later consideration.

I love ideas, especially contrasting ideas, so it tickles me pink to see scenarios like a DDS member attending a PBBM rally, a Kakampink gatecrashing a DDS rally, and leftist militants attending mass or infiltrating any of the above. In my life, I have met a lot of interesting people in terms of how they change political loyalties and religious beliefs through time: pro-Aquino turning pro-Marcos, Marcos loyalist turning yellow, atheists turning into rabid Catholics, religious folk (Catholic and Protestant) -- even pro-lifers -- supporting Duterte, pro-Duterte turning anti-Duterte, and other unexpected conversions. (Heck, I've met a bunch of men who used to self-identify as "gay" but eventually moved on to get married to their girlfriends and have kids with them.) And vice-versa!

If there are reversals of fortune, there are also sudden shifts in the philosophical-religious-political continuum or spectrum. If I had nine lives, I'd devote more research on these fascinating switches and how they are all proofs of the so-called Dunning-Kruger effect, even from among the smartest set.

But it is extremely concerning when things turn violent as in the case of masked boys in apparently well-coordinated shirts, a few of them prepubescent, all targeting the wrong targets: policemen, trailer truck, media, public infrastructure like traffic lights, private shops, a SOGO motel, for Pete's sake, even a poor nun (do they even know how these nuns take good care of people with nowhere else to go as part of their apostolate?)... Terribly wrong move.

I know these are serious and delicate times, so it's not time for jokes, but reading all those placard signs gave me a perversely good laugh. "Stop the Korap!", "Stop flexing our taxes!", "Palpak at Pahamak! Kurakot Managot!", "Managot ang Sangkot!", "I-cashback ang Kickback!", "Usigin, Panagutin ang Salarin!" Some protesters arriving in costumes turned the protest into a cosplay show.

Trust Pinoys to compose pitch-perfect rhymes, alliterations, and other rhetorical devices in the service of deep-seated anger and frustration. "40 (luxury) cars? Brother ko nga 3 lang ang brief!" says one of the wittiest and funniest ones.

But how much of all that emotion is truly righteous anger and how much of it is envy for the good fortune of others (with legitimately earned wealth)? I wonder.

Let's not forget that the date of September 21, 2025, was a Sunday and also a commemoration of the supposed declaration of martial law by Ferdinand Marcos.

In the midst of it all, a little homily from a priest I listened to online is highly instructive. "The corruption we see in our larger society is but a reflection of the corruption within each of us," he begins.

"How true," I said. For example, in our own little milieu, using a tiny office material or equipment, be it a staple wire, coupon bond, paper clip, or photocopier, for personal use is already a form of corruption. Using official time for personal purpose is already corruption. Big things start from little things. These little thefts and acts of estafa, when multiplied by the millions, are in fact damaging, but tell me who is not guilty of it? Those with conscience may pay back by giving them back in kind or by rendering unpaid work hours beyond official time.

But I thought, that doesn't mean we should just stay silent in the face of the large-scale larceny, right?

Besides, from the humble perspective of local government, I know how extremely difficult it is to dip your hand in the cookie jar, what with an accountant as leader armed with all those anti-corruption, good governance, and transparency best practices, and existing checks-and-balances, on top of higher-level regulatory controls and prosecuting agencies in place.

To name those I can recall:

- public hearings on budget,
- public budget deliberations,
- EOs issued by the mayor
- local resolutions and ordinances passed by the Sangguniang Bayan,
- Citizen's Charter as required by ARTA
- provincial-level review and approval
- COA
- Good Financial Housekeeping audit
- Compliance to Fully Disclosure Policy using publicly accessible bulletin boards displaying financial reports
- standard government procurement process per RA 12009,
- public bidding through the Bids and Awards Committe,
- an Internal Audit Unit,
- SGLG validation activities,
- an eagle-eyed and ever-vigilant MLGOO gently reminding about compliance to DILG circulars,
- provincial, regional, and national auditors giving surprise visits: if they are honest and smart, they can easily smell a dead rat,
- ISO-certified processes,
- Civil Service Commission,
- Office of the Ombudsman...

To carry out a perfect money heist, you will have to be in cahoots with people in some of these or all of these. To get an illicit job done, if you can get away with it at all, even with all those things firmly in place, you have to be one creative genius of an *** (expletive deleted)!

It is therefore truly revolting how those at the top can go scot-free so easily.

Again, it is so easy to get lost amidst all that noisy exchange between and among the various factions, on top of the ongoing online 'war' between the Tagalogs and the Bisaya. I kind of miss the times when there's a national figurehead everyone listened to. But now, these multiple voices are competing for attention and, in the end, we have one multiply fractured nation.

Oh, but there is hope among the young, like it has always been. But who are they listening to nowadays aside from those who call themselves woke (with the assumption that the rest of world are... asleep)? I heard they are partial to that One-Piece figure represented by a symbol most of us, older ones, associate with poison. I hope there's someone from the center who will fill in the 'job vacancy' for them, someone who is calm and collected, who can rally everyone to help build a workable consensus, no matter how tenuous, out of our complex but divided community, someone who can channel public outrage into actual solutions.