Liberty May Be At Risk

Chaff from the Grain
Liberty May Be At Risk
By HECTOR R.R. VILLANUEVA Former Press Secretary

“Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.” — William Pitt

MANILA, Philippines — Is President Benigno Simeon Aquino III for real?

It seems that his bizarre behavior appears symptomatic of demagoguery where individual liberty, instead of being enhanced, may be at risk and circumscribed.

In fact, does Pesident Aquino know or is aware of where he is headed for?

First, do his Cabinet Secretaries and byzantine advisers realize that President Aquino is going overboard in his hot pursuit of PGMA and Chief Justice Corona?

Or, are they too petrified to restrain or caution the President for fear of being replaced or terminated?

Are the Filipino people acquiescing this early to President Aquino’s strong-arm tendencies?

How about his distinction between guilt and innocence?

That is, Chief Justice Renato Corona is guilty until proven innocent while Pagcor Chairman/ CEO Critino Naguiat is innocent until proven guilty?

Second, President Benigno Aquino is treadingin uncharted waters in which he does not have the experience, knowledge, acumen, and skills to handle social, ideological, and geopolitical complexities.

To quote John Locke, “No man’s knowledge can go beyond his experience.”

In brief, since President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has had, before meteorically catapulted to the Presidency, an undistinguished history as a legislator in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, and an equally unimpressive career path inthe private sector, his inexperience and lack of dogged concentration on critical issues will put the nation at risk in big stakes games, such as the China-US hegemonic rivalry, the return of US military to the Philippines on a de facto basis, the enhanced risk of terrorism, the imminent relaxation of nationalistic provisions in the Constitution, agrarian reform, and others.

That is, the complex problems of the Philippines are not confined or limited toindicting Chief Justice Renato Corona and Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

There is the economy to focus on.

Third, President Aquino, unknowingly, may be listening to advisers with their own agenda.

Thus, the most hardworking executives of the President are also the same executives who were gainfully employed and pampered by PGMA.

Today, they try to be more “noynoy” than Noynoy with their zealousness since they are aware that people are watching them for sings of disloyalty, deviation, revisionism, or corruption.

Truth to tell, President Benigno Aquino, who cannot run for re election, does not really care who comes in and who goes out. And all Aquino allies and appointees know this trait of President Aquino.

When all is said and done, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III is wading in deep waters beyond his competence.

Demagoguery can only worsen over time, and hubris will catch up with him.

For example, if a strong regime is being sought, President Ferdinand Marcos, or President Fidel V. Ramos, or Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, would know what to do and would know what they are getting into and the risks involved.

On the other hand, President Benigno Aquino has an erratic character, vindictive traits, and dangerous proclivities that do not augur well for the future.

You be the judge

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