‘Moderate your greed!’

Dahli Aspillera

‘National Heroes Day–last Monday of August; Mitos Magsaysay--proselytizing against greed.’

AN email, on this week’s National Heroes Day, from carmencita_h_acosta@yahoo.com: "I had back-up documents consisting of almost century-old articles in newspapers and magazines where my grandfather, Caloocan municipal president Godofredo B. Herrera and your grandfather, Rizal province governor Lope K. Santos (Mang Openg as I addressed him) wrote....

"...Your grandfather also was one of those who pushed for the proclamation of November 30 as Bonifacio Day. When elements from a certain town of a certain province insisted on celebrating November 30 unofficially as Heroes Day, that was the time when Mang Openg and his colleagues pushed for the Proclamation of the last Sunday of August as National Heroes Day. They chose August to commemorate the month when the first battles of the Revolution were launched by the Katipunan fighters. And in more recent times, the late Jose W. Diokno succeeded in having the government properly celebrate separately the two holidays.

"Your grandfather was also one of those who worked for the erection of the beautiful Bonifacio Monument (designed by sculptor Guillermo Tolentino) which graces the Bonifacioo Rotunda in Caloocan City, (This was during the time of commonwealth president Manuel Quezon.)

"And Mang Openg was one of the founders of the then popular KAPATIRANG ALAGAD NI BONIFACIO, of which my mother, Carmen Herrera Acosta was recruited by him into membership.

"I’m certain that you know that your grandfather was one of the very young members of the Katipunan army, active in the libertarian movement in the province of Rizal and environs. He saw and heard Andres Bonifacio and was touched by the hero’s sincerity and passionate love of country.

"’Few men - only men of great courage - would dare start a revolution against a powerful foreign colonial government,’ LKS said. ‘Bonifacio’s maternal grandfather was a pure Spaniard, and his mother, Catalina de Castro was a mestiza. Bonifacio had three other brothers who also fought in the Revolution - Procopio, Ciriaco and Troadio. Two of these brothers were also assassinated together with Andres Bonifacio.’

"During my childhood years--9 years old and up to the time Mang Openg passed away--I would listen to him talk during meetings or visits to his home in Pandacan, Manila. I always tagged along when my Mom attended functions or meetings. When I became a researcher at the National Library I checked up on the data narrated by Mang Openg, an true enough, the records were there.

"I’d like to note that Procopio, Bonifacio’s brother, was the most Spanish-looking of the brothers. It is tragic to note that years later many of the Katipunan Records of the National Library were pilfered by a group of outside researchers. Neither President Ferdinand Marcos nor prime minister Cesar Virata received an accurate report of the motive behind the sinister design to wipe out all records of the Katipunan.

"Years after Mang Openg had passed away, my Mom and like-minded colleagues made an effort to have him recognized as a National Artist. Sad to say, their efforts were nipped in the bud. But who knows? There could be a right time.--Carmencita Herrera-Acosta."

***

"Moderate your greed..." Mitos Magsaysay, proselytizing to Filipinos on the evils of thievery and corruption, and the need for righteousness. For those who do not know, Mitos is the Lead Lackey of the Arroyos. Based on her manner of lambasting the present Aquino leadership, and based on what I hear of her loyalty and dedication to the previous decade’s Administration, one wonders what was in it to her personal benefit.

Mitos orders us to "Moderate your greed!" Ha... ha... ha! Ha... ha... ha.... Ha... ha... ha! Ha... ha... ha.... Ha... ha... ha! Ha... ha... ha! Can’t help but laugh that much at hearing the Great Protector and Defender of the Arroyos lecturing us, honest and hardworking Filipinos, to moderate our greed! All Filipinos this past year were horrified, stunned at how the Arroyo leadership connived with their cohorts in military, in civil service, in private industry. The Arroyo Administration watched as these lackeys advanced, intensified, exacerbated their greed. It was free-for-all in the looting of the country’s treasury. No source of illegal funds were left alone. Even Customs shipping containers, more than 3,000, disappeared the previous decade, and the Arroyo BOC ignored these disappearances.

After laughing so much at the "Moderate your greed" of Mitos, now, I must cry for the people of Zambales for whom she speaks. They do not deserve such hypocrisy, shallowness, and insipidity in their representative.

As I write this, President Aquino is on board a plane to China for a 4-day state visit. Godspeed, Mr. President. I feel good reading the details of his mission including plans for a Phil-China joint exploration for oil in our waters. I feel good knowing that he is in China for the advancement of the Philippines, rather than to arrange for personal kick-back and commissions as happened during the Arroyo Administration. (Remember the NBM/ZTE and other deals of Filipinos at golf courses in China!) Independent national surveys confirm that after a decade of the Arroyos, finally, matuwid na daan, thanks to P-Noy. This poor president is struggling from under tons of evil deeds of the past decade to have his matuwid na daan identify and prosecute. (The government needs solid evidence that will stand in courts which takes a lot of time to collect when you are dealing with the wealthy, powerful skillful criminals and their slew of skillful lawyers.)

Upstart-Mitos, as happens in political dynasties, got where she is not from ethical nor cerebral prowess, but because of the surname she is flaunting. She crudely lambastes President Aquino with the sole purpose to make the Arroyos look not that bad. I wrote of my shock at hearing Mitos verbally assault another on a level one expects only from an unrefined, ignorant street-corner drunk. These prevarications of Mitos Magsaysay against President Aquino bear repeating to let people she deals with know what she’s really all about:

"This president is lazy, immature, walang alam, laid back, tamad, amateurish, satisfied with mediocrity, works only between 10 a.m. and 4 pm."

(The rest of my opinion on this matter inhttp://www.malaya.com.ph/may18/eddahli.html)