August 21, 2009

The Editorial of the Philippine Daily Inquirer today succinctly marked the ripeness of time which the country is experiencing at this point: the resurgence of the spirit of democracy.

“The assassination of former Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr. 26 years ago today led us, by sometimes bizarre twists and unprecedented turns, and in a mere thousand days, to the presidency of his widow, Corazon Aquino. Now, in an amazing historical coincidence, Cory’s slow death and extraordinary funeral earlier this month have led the country back to rediscover Ninoy the hero.”

Sen. Noynoy Aquino, fast becoming a more colorful character since the death of his mother, stated the call to action: have faith in democracy.

"My parents have genuine faith in democracy. They believe the key to democracy is stability of consensus in place of oppression. Now it is our turn to secure the democracy they [my parents] fought for. Alone I am weak but together we are strong. The ball is now in our hands. Ituloy natin ang laban [Let us continue the fight]!" he told the people as he flashed the familiar "L" sign for "laban" (fight), which his mother, the late president Corazon Aquino had used in her own campaign against the dictator Ferdinand Marcos more than 20 years ago.

We at Tenks Mike Blog had a friendly discussion about how history will judge our friend as a defender of democracy. On one hand, he was at the forefront of the fight against Martial Law and oppressive regimes during his youth. Yet, his association with and dedication to the present administration undoubtedly raised doubts about his ideology and commitment to democracy – doubts which are mostly knee-jerk reactions if we are allowed to say so.

One of us recalled how Alleba Politics applauded Mike when he conceded defeat in the Senatorial Elections 2007.

It said, “Yesterday (May 30, 2007), the administrator’s top defender former Chief of Staff Mike Defensor conceded defeat in the yet unconcluded midterm Senatorial race. According to Defensor, he did so in order “to ease tension” and to discourage his supporters (and in essence Team Unity [TU]) from committing “acts inimical to the essence of democracy and fair play in an electoral battle.”

I have not seen Defensor in a positive light since he started to be Arroyo’s staunchest defender. But today, I applaud him. He gave me a renewed faith on Filipino politicians. I know what he did is hard. He has, after all, been in public service for a long time.

I can only hope that the wisdom that made him concede can also be influence those who wish to commit what Defensor wants to avoid. Furthermore, I hope that the same wisdom makes Defensor realize that he is not on the losing side. Rather, he lost because he is on the wrong side. This momentary (I think) rest from public service should make him realize that in the end, a true public servant serves the public and their interests, and nobody else’s.

For now, I applaud him.”

While we may not agree with all of the statements above, we share his conclusion that indeed Mike Defensor has the heart of a true public servant.

After four hours of interesting discussion, we decided that we can never tell how history will judge our friend. However, we would like to open a discussion about the matter online to provide a forum for those who have any opinion - strong or weak, for or against - about the matter.

Let us know what you think.