‘Weather-weather’ friends

At the wake of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s grandson Jorge Alonzo Bernas, there were a large number of people who expressed their condolences to the family. Most of those who turned out were old friends of the Arroyos, but there were also a few people with different political persuasions  – who are starting to hedge on their political bets especially with the decline in the approval ratings of the current administration.

GMA found out early on during her detention who her true friends really are – an experience that former president Joseph Estrada is very familiar with.

Today is the birthday of vice president Jejomar Binay. He will most likely still receive a lot of birthday greetings despite all the controversy – but surely he can already differentiate from the “weather-weather” friends to his “true” friends.

A gentle but strong Pope

It would seem that the earthly pursuit of politics is not confined to government, but is also seen within the hallowed grounds of the Vatican. Or at least, that’s what observers say upon news that US Cardinal Raymond Burke has been “demoted” from his position as head of the Holy See’s Supreme Tribunal and reassigned as Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (or simply put, chaplain of the Knights of Malta) – a ceremonial job that oversees charity work for the elderly. 

Apparently, the conservative 66-year-old American cardinal has been vocal in his criticism against Pope Francis and the seeming relaxation of the Vatican’s stand on certain “sensitive” social issues, such as encouraging the attendance of gays and lesbians to church and contemplating the removal of fees for marriage annulments.

Many know Pope Francis as a kind, gentle and compassionate leader who washes the feet of prisoners and prefers simplicity over pomp and pageantry – but the demotion of Burke – the highest ranking American cardinal – sends a strong signal that he will not hesitate to act against those who disagree with his progressive views. Vatican observers say this is actually the second demotion for Burke – the first time being his removal from the powerful Congregation of Bishops – the body that decides on the appointment of bishops worldwide.

Filipinos are looking forward to seeing the kind and strong Pope when he visits the Philippines in 2015. Pope Francis has chosen to spend some of his limited time visiting the victims of Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban on Jan. 17 next year – something that Taclobanons feel more than makes up for the “snub” they received from the supposed leader of the entire country.

Aquino’s ‘wrong political instinct’

We received a lot of emails from friends all over the world, many of them from former diplomats assigned to the Philippines who continue to feel for the plight of the victims of Typhoon Yolanda – one year after. But what was significant is how they said they fully agreed with the opinion column of our Philippine STAR editor-in-chief Amy Pamintuan and the Philippine Daily Inquirer editorial – both of which appeared yesterday.

The PDI editorial described the President’s decision to skip Tacloban City in the series of activities marking the first anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda as “an egregious mistake” – reminding Filipinos all over the country of “the politically toxic atmosphere that hung over Tacloban immediately after it was devastated by the strongest typhoon to ever make landfall.” This was also the observation of Amy Pamintuan who noted that it was just “too bad our public officials can’t set aside politics even temporarily for a tragedy of immense magnitude like Super Typhoon Yolanda.”

The President, the PDI editorial went, should have been at “ground zero” of the Yolanda catastrophe, and that as head of state, it would have served public interest to direct national attention to issues and events of importance. And while it was true that the President had his plate full with all the preparations for the APEC CEO summit, “…there was no excuse for the President to skip the city altogether. In the same way that German Chancellor Angela Merkel would have been pilloried if she had neglected Berlin during the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, or US President Barack Obama if he had failed to visit New York on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Mr. Aquino’s absence from Tacloban on the first anniversary of Yolanda was a failure to do his duty. What would it have taken to take a quick helicopter ride from Guiuian or from Bantayan Island?” the editorial said.

Amy was likewise straightforward in her column: “P-Noy is no statesman, and as we have seen, he doesn’t take criticism well,” she said, opining that Tacloban – now also being referred to as “ground zero” with reference to the killer typhoon – would have been a good place to thank the international community for sustained aid in the disaster area.

As she correctly observed, “the first death anniversary is special in our culture. It is the ‘pagbababang luksa,’ when the mourning period ends. For typhoon victims who are hoping that their missing loved ones are still alive, the official mourning has not even started. The President of the republic is not just the commander-in-chief but also, when occasion calls for it, the mourner-in-chief,” she noted, lamenting the “lack of empathy.”

As one former ambassador told me in his email, “Aquino had the wrong political instinct.” Our former diplomat-friend is recommending that people should read both Amy Pamintuan’s opinion column and the editorial of the Philippine Daily Inquirer yesterday.

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