It’s going to be a laughter-filled year

The Philippine Daily Inquirer called 2016 annus horribilis — a horrible year, although the high profile public officials provided much comic relief with their laughable utterances. That is why in my last column for the year I wished you all dear readers a laughter-filled 2017.

Well, indications are 2017 will indeed be laughter-filled as in the month of January alone the jesters — the old and the new — in the court of DU30 have already drawn much laughter with their ludicrous pronouncements. The new ones opened the year with statements that elicited from the public a reaction like “What was that?” or “Say again!”

On the very first working day of 2017, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno made this banal statement: “The candidate Duterte is different from President Duterte. You make campaign promises but when you see the data you realize it’s impossible to fulfill.” One didn’t have to study in the prestigious universities Syracuse and Johns Hopkins as Mr. Diokno did to know that.

The comment though reflects on the true character of the highly respected economist. He supported the candidacy of Mr. Duterte for president when he knew all along that what Mr. Duterte was promising during the campaign cannot be fulfilled. It raises the question of what the motive for his support is.

Immediately following was Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial dimwitted remark: “People are now afraid to light firecrackers because of the President. They have this impression that somehow they will get caught or they will be punished.” That observation was no more than an expression of sycophancy for the people had no reason to fear punishment for lighting firecrackers. As Presidential Spokesman Martin Andanar had explained, the President had deferred the signing of an executive order banning firecrackers because there are industries and laborers who would be adversely affected by the ban.

Then came the resident jesters of the Duterte administration.

On Jan. 4, Senate Committee on Justice Chair Richard Gordon said that he will not look into what Matobato says following the latter’s recent allegation that he personally saw President Duterte kill eight people when Duterte was still Davao City mayor. “Well, for me it’s finished, I will not look into it unless he will say something new, he himself discredits his own testimony. The law says you have to prove it, there should be evidence. He had every opportunity,” said Sen. Gordon. He added that he, a lawyer, “would be laughed at if he presented Matobato’s testimony in court.”

He is now laughed at as a lawyer precisely because of his sloppy handling of Matobato’s testimony. First of all it is not true that Matobato had every opportunity to provide evidence. As the Jan. 4 editorial of the Inquirer put it, Sen. Gordon “had abruptly terminated the hearings, in a fit of pique.”

The Inquirer also pointed out that the law also provides guidelines for assessing the credibility of a witness and the worth of his testimony. A person who speaks against his self-interest is more credible than someone who speaks only to protect his own interest; Matobato came forward to claim responsibility for at least 50 kills. He dismissed Matobato’s account of the killing of alleged Pakistani terrorist Sali Makdum because a Google search had revealed nothing about Makdum. But now, Sen. Gordon’s committee has recommended the filing of charges against Matobato precisely for the Makdum case. Sen. Gordon also ignored Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s own claim that he personally killed some criminals when he was mayor of Davao City.

Last week, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez expressed amazement at people talking about Martial Law. He urged the public to stop talking about Martial Law. “Let’s not talk about it,” he said.

Funny, he should ask the people to refrain from talking about it when it is his bosom buddy Digong who brings up the subject now and then.

As the Inquirer editorial of Jan. 18 said, President Duterte was “unprompted and unprovoked” when he said: “If I have to declare Martial Law, I will declare it, not because of invasion, insurrection, I will declare Martial Law to preserve my nation, period.”

Also last week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay stated that “the public should know we are not sleeping on the job.” That was in reaction to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s statement that the Philippine government would be remiss in its duty to protect its national interest if it does not protest, question, and seek clarification from China on the presence of weapons in the Spratlys.

Not only does the public know that Sec. Yasay and company are not sleeping on the job, the public knows that they are wide awake but watching passively if not submissively what China is doing in the Spratlys.

But perhaps there is nothing more inane than what Sen. Emmanuel Pacquiao uttered in the same week. “God gave the government the right to use capital punishment. Jesus Christ was even sentenced to death because the government called for it,” pontificated the Bible-quoting pastor when he pushed for the restoration of capital punishment.

Strange that he did not say crucifixion when asked what his preferred form of execution is. He said he would go for hanging, quipping, “We just have to kick the chair.” Sen. Francis Pangilinan cautioned the professional boxer against turning the death penalty into a laughing matter.

On the call of Speaker Alvarez last week for PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa to resign in the wake of the brutal murder of Korean Jee Ick-joo allegedly by police officers right in the backyard of Dir. Gen. Dela Rosa’s official residence, Bato said: “Do they think I’m enjoying my work? That’s too much. How cruel of them to say that I should resign.”

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief himself and former superior of the beleaguered Bato, advised him to refocus his priorities, shun activities not related to work and start thinking PNP 24/7. He had gone to Las Vegas to watch the Manny Pacquiao-Jesse Vargas fight at a crucial stage of the war on drugs, and watched a concert of American singer-songwriter Bryan Adams when public attention on the Jee kidnap-murder case was at its height. He had watched Philippine Basketball Association games, too.

Last Christmas, he donned the Santa Clause garb and distributed gifts to orphans of victims of the drug war, to compensate for the loss of their father. What a display of insensitivity.

The other resident jesters Justice Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre, Sen. Tito Sotto, and Cong. Reynaldo Umali have also let out laughable statements but space limitation prevents me from quoting them all.

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. is a member of Manindigan! a cause-oriented group of businessmen, professionals, and academics.

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