SC to BS Aquino:”Thou Shall Not Steal” BS Aquino to SC: “Go To Hell!”

So terribly shocked were the reactions of the netizens, people in the social media, to the July 14 speech of President Aquino that I am at a loss for words how to translate them to the simple people and to the so-called man in the street. Aside from too  much legalese or legal concepts and terms in these reactions, there were quite a number who were very blunt in interpreting P-noy as hitting the Supreme Court justices below the belt, as some of them do to the President..

The way I simplify their bitter reactions is my wording of the title of this Shalom. This is also my way of reading the legal experts who are trying to be formal but cannot hide their anger. Pnoy’s insulting speech, according to one, was full of ignorance and arrogance. They tell us that this unfortunate incident was unprecedented in the history of our country.

Translating the unpresidential lambast on the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court that his DAP is unconstitutional, we Cebuano speaking Mindanaoans might summarize it mixing biblical and street language with, “Korte Suprema ngadto Pnoy: ‘Ayaw Pangawat’. Pnoy ngadto Korte Suprema: ‘Mga yawa kamo!'”.

We have to put it in this very blunt, exaggerated and perhaps irreverent way to remind ourselves , especially our simple people, who Pnoy call his bosses, that the entire country, not just the government under him, is in terrible crisis, a very precarious situation indeed.  Social unrest and the imminent possibility of a revolution, a change of government can result from this. A peaceful systemic change has also been proposed through social media through the National Transformation Council while calls for the impeachment or resignation of BS Aquino and Sec. Florencio Abad are getting louder. What are the causes of these possibilities, our people exposed only to and fed by  gov’t-controlled media want to know.

Due to PDAF and DAP and the misuse of Malampaya funds (as Napoles told the visiting bishops last week), the President, certain Cabinet Secrettaries, the Senators and the House Representatives involved in the scams, have lost their moral right and authority to be in government service. More importantly, and backtracking a bit, the Computer Society of the Philippines, who analyzed the 2010 and 2013 National Elections, showed the Catholic bishops in our July 2013 assembly that there was heavy cheating through the manipulation of the pcos machines rendering the electoral process illegal and the results invalid. When I asked that if what they showed us was true, those sitting in elected positions in government from the president down to the LGUs are illegitimate, his answer was a strong Yes. So we think cannot morally demand obedience and cooperation from the citizenry, from the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police. And we cannot avoid the conclusion that for the past four years we had what is called in Latin a De Facto but not a De Jure government, which literally means, a Factual but not Legal government. Why this way? The Electoral Tribunal would take months and years to investigate the cheating. That is why then Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Prospero Nograles had to proclaim the “winners”, otherwise there would be no people to run government.

As of today only the 14 Supreme Court Justices remain unchallenged even if some were appointed by an illegitimate president.  Except for some pro-Pnoy congressmen planning to abolish the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF)the Justices are getting nationwide support. So what happens now?

There are several groups around the country and a group inside Malacanang, so I was informed. already preparing (or plotting?) their own responses. What are these is not wise and safe to speculate.  We will keep our eyes and ears open, and get as much reliable info as we can, and make our decision. This is a moral imperative, an obligation we cannot ignore as a Christian.

Till next week, if the social volcano does not erupt in the mean time, God forbid.