Again, the rev gov
Ialways find affinity with people who are into or are interested in creative writing, especially journalists. That was why I got close to colleagues who are members of Bathalad (Bathalan-ong Halad sa Dagang) and, in the past, Tarantula. That was why I admired and got friendly with Erma Cuizon who, aside from once writing the Sunday Essay for SunStar Cebu, was also an official of the Women In Literary Arts (WILA). Ma’am Erms died the other day at the age of 81.
I remember Erma for the seemingly eternal calmness of her demeanor. I don’t know how she dealt with subordinates as a superior when she was with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) but here in SunStar she was never known to have raised her voice at anybody (although a former colleague used to raise his voice at her).
The deterioration in her health started after she was hospitalized a couple of years ago. To Ma’am Erms, Godspeed.
President Rodrigo Duterte was probably joking when he told reporters who are now covering his participation in the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (Apec) Summit in Vietnam that he is no longer interested in declaring a revolutionary government because the military told Vice President Leni Robredo so. Robredo had earlier said she got assurance from the military that it won’t back any moves that would “threaten the Constitution.”
The giveaway in the president’s story about a conversation with the “military” was when the latter supposedly told him that they prefer Robredo because she is “babae at saka hindi nagmumura.”
But beyond that tongue-in-cheek moment one can glean a bit of the presidential thinking in that press con: that declaring a revolutionary government is a serious endeavor and needs preparation, including getting a pledge of support from the military. While before he would talk about it in theoretical terms, he now prefers to be mum about his plan. “Sino ba naman mag- announce na mag- revolutionary ka? Di mag- revolutionary ka na diretso,” he said.
Declaring a revolutionary government actually means the Duterte camp seizing total control of the government--essentially a coup. That was what former dictator Ferdinand Marcos did in September 1972, only that what he declared was military rule. That was why Marcos prepared well that move and made sure that the entire military establishment would be one with him. And he did it in secret, the plot announced only after the machinery was already humming.
That was why Robredo’s claim--that she got an assurance from Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Rey Leonardo Guerrero that they won’t support a revolutionary government and any moves that would threaten the Constitution--is interesting. If true, then the message has been sent.
Indeed, in the midst of the noise sparked by many of the Duterte administration’s moves, including the war against illegal drugs and the declaration of military rule in Mindanao, Lorenzana and the military has been a calming influence. They acted with equanimity even if their commander-in-chief hadn’t.