EDITORIAL – The Guingona book

Everybody is entitled to his own story. And while history judges all of us mercilessly, we remain free how we like to learn the lessons that history eventually teaches us. In other words, it is not history that has the final say in our lives if we can choose how we live.

One notable man in contemporary history is Teofisto Guingona, who spent much of his life fighting for what he thought was right and had most of his countrymen agreeing with him. In the latter part of his life, he fought another fight and lost the belief people had for him.

Guingona has written a book about his life and it should be a good read. It should be intructive to all students of contemporary history. Many lessons can be learned from this one shining example of consistency compromised.

The old man from Mindanao was one of the most respected leaders of the political forces opposed to the dictatorship of Marcos. His wisdom and his voice was one of the most sought after in the years following the end of martial rule and the rebirth of democracy in the Philippines.

But the consistency of Guingona in pursuing a fight apparently centered mainly on the enemies involved in the struggle and not on the qualifying reasons why a struggle, or a fight, had to take place at all.

In the latter years of his struggles, the dedication and consistency of his focus on moving targets and not on whether or not there should be a fight at all became very apparent. He became involved with forces that were out to illegally topple government.

Apparently he thought the Marcos dictatorship and this government are the same when they are not. The illegitimacy of the Marcos dictatorship was never in question. This government has never been proven to be illegitimate despite the serious questions surrounding it.

If Guingona ever wonders where the difference lay, it lies with the people. That people celebrated the overthrow of Marcos but stayed away from all attempts to overthrow this one cannot be more clear an indicator to where he missed.

Nevertheless, it is a mistake that only Guingona will bear for the rest of his life. Other Filipinos will move on with their own stories to tell. The story of Guingona, however, should be worth reading. Our own stories can never be complete without the stories of others.