Et Tu, Jose Sabio?

Ayon sa isang dating guro at malapit na kaibigan, isang araw ang magkasabay na inaasam at pinapangambahan ng isang ama, ang araw kung kailan ka malampasan ng iyong anak. Inaasam ng ama ang araw na ito dahil pangarap ng lahat ng mabuting ama na mas malayo ang marating at mas malaki ang maging tagumpay ng kanyang anak. Nakakapangamba rin ang araw na ito dahil baka mawala na ng paghanga at ang paggalang ng anak sa kanyang ama. Isang pag-asa lang ng isang ama ay ang pagpapalaki niya sa ang kanyang anak na may tamang asal. Isa sa mga ito ay ang pagturing sa katauhan ng isang tao ang pinanggalingan ng paghanga at paggalang, hindi ang yaman o antas sa buhay.

Ang kaibigan ko ay nakatapos ng kolehiyo at doktoria sa pagtuturo, at naging isang mataas na opisyal sa isang pamantasan sa estado ng California habang ang ama niya ay hindi nakatapos ng pag-aaral at binuhay at pinalaki ang kanilang pamilya sa pamimitas ng prutas at gulay sa mga taniman. Hanggang ngayon, hindi maitatago ang paghanga at pagpaparangal ng aking kaibigan sa alaala ng kanyang ama tuwing gumagawi dito ang usapan. Wala akong duda na ganoon din ang paghanga at pagpaparangal na nararandaman ng kanyang mga anak para sa kanya.

Maari ring ituring ang relasyon ng isang guro at mag-aaral ay parang relasyon ng ama sa kanyang anak. Kung maayos ang pagtuturo ng isang guro sa kanyang mag-aaral, malaman na mas malayo ang mararating at mas malaki ang magiging tagumpay ng kanyang mga mag-aaral. At kahit na mas malayo ang marating at mas malaki ang maging tagumpay ng isang mag-aaral, mananatili ang paghanga at paggalang niya sa kanyang guro. Mawawala lamang ang paghanga at paggalang na ito kung may malaking kakulangan sa pagkatao ang guro na matutuntunan ang mag-aaral.

Naalala ko ang aking dating guro at malapit na kaibigan dahil isang dating isang guro na naman ang nasa balita ngayon at ang dating paghanga at paggalang na narandaman ko ay napalitan ng pagkadismaya. Ang dating guro na ito ay si Justice Jose Sabio ng Court of Appeals na naging guro ko nuong nag-aaral ako ng abogasya sa Ateneo.

Hinahangaan at ginagalang ko pa rin si Jose Sabio nuong isiniwalat niya ang 'di umano'y katiwalian sa Court of Appeals. Hindi ito natinag kahit matagal na panahon ang nagdaan bago niya isiwalat ito. Hindi nawala ang aking paghanga at paggalang kahit inakusahan siya na siya raw ang mismong humingi ng lagay. Madali ang magparatang, mahirap ang magpatunay.

Nawala ang aking paghanga at paggalang nuong aminin mismo ni Jose Sabio na nilapitan siya ng kanyang nakakatandang kapatid (PCGG Chairman Camilo Sabio) tungkol sa isang kaso nguni't wala siyang nakitang mali dito. Wala naman daw inalok na kapalit ang kanyang kapatid at hindi naman daw siya nagpatinag sa kanyang desisyon. Nakakadismaya. Walang pagkakaiba ang ginawa ng kapatid niya sa paratang niyang ginawa ni Francis de Borja.

Mayroon tawag ang mga abogabo sa ginawa ni Camilo Sabio: ginapang niya ang kaso. Mabigat ang ibig sabihin ng “paggapang.” Kapareho ito kung gagamitin sa ganitong halimbawa: “Ginagapang ng amo ang kanyang katulong gabi-gabi.” Ipinanahiwatig na ang ganitong gawain ay tago, mapanlinlang at mali. Anong mga hayon ba ang gumagapang? Hindi ba mga ahas at buwaya? Mga hayop na binigyan natin ng masamang katangian. Merong pagkakaiba ang taong nanggagapang at ang mga ahas at buwaya. Ang mga ahas ang buwaya ay gumagapang dahil naayon ito sa hugis ng kanilang katawan; likas ito sa kanila. Ang mga ahas at buwaya ay gumagapang ng walang malisya, kundi dahil sa pangangailangan. Ang taong nanggagapang ay may itinatagong kamalian na ayaw niyang makita ng iba.

Kung nakakasuka ang halimbawa, dapat ay ganoon din kung hindi higit pa, ang paningin natin sa ginawa ng magkapatid na Sabio. Hindi lang mga partido sa kaso ang nilapastangan nito kundi ang buong bayan na umaasa sa maayos na pagpapalakad ng hustisiya.

Walang kinalaman ang pag-alok ng kapalit o ang pagsunod sa “mungkahi” sa pagkakaroon ng gapangan. Dalawa lamang ang elemento ng gapangan: 1) May kasong dapat husgahan; 2) May partidong lumapit ng patago para impluwensiyahan ang magiging husga, Kung may kinalaman ang alok ng kapalit o ang pagtatagumpay sa paggapang, ito ay ang pagpapalala. Kagaya rin ng ating halimbawa ng among nanggagapang, hindi nakasalalay ang pagganap ng panggagapang kung nagtagumpay sa panghahalay ang amo. Lumalala lamang ito.

Baka naman may magsasabi riyan na walang naganap na gapangan dahil hindi naman patago ang naging paglapit. Heto nga at buong loob na inilahad ni Jose Sabio ang nangyari. Ano ang masasabi mo sa taong nagsasabing puti ang itim, malabo ang malinaw o tama ang mali para magbago siya ng isip?

Dismayado rin ako sa mga kagaya kong naging dating mag-aaral na tinuruan ni Jose Sabio na kumakaripas na pumirma sa isang petisyon ng pagsuporta sa aming dating guro na ngayon naman ay tikom ang bibig sa mga kabaluktutang inamin mismo ng aming dating guro. Kung may nakita tayong tama, dapat lang na suportahan natin. Kung mayroon tayong nakitang mali, dapat ay ituwid natin.

Kalimutan na natin ang dapat o hindi dapat gawin. Maging makasarili na tayo. Sa susunod na may mangangailangan ng ating suporta, sino pa ang maniniwala sa atin kung lantaran nating kinusinte ang isang kabaluktutan?

Enough of the Movie Quotes Already!

There are times we are confronted by a situation which evokes very strong emotions—grief, jubilation, horror, awe—that we become at a loss for words. And so we use the words of those who are probably wiser and definitely more eloquent, to describe our feelings.

It was George Bernard Shaw who first said “Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others see things that never were and ask why not?” But most people attribute the quote to Bobby F. Kennedy in his eulogy for his brother John F Kennedy. Okay, Bobby Kennedy changed the second sentence to “I see things that never were….” and did not attribute the quote to its proper author. In this instance, it is not important whether the words were Bobby Kennedy’s or not because it captured the pathos of the moment in a way that other words could not.

Those were the good old days when people read books and actively sought knowledge. These days, we are more interested in drama, however artificial. And we have also become lazy. We just latch on to the catchy phrases, mostly from movies, to capture the moment in words. Even “the moment” could be any moment not necessarily dramatic. The catch phrase is probably supposed to provide the drama.

Consider the situation in the Supreme Court inquiry into the alleged bribery in the Court of Appeals. CA Justice Roxas quoted the Penguin, a character in a Batman movie, to explain why he shredded documents and brought them home for burning. What was it about that that Justice Roxas himself, a judge in the second highest court in the land, could not explain in his own words? And what was it about the Penguin that made him such an authority in the destruction of governments?

Of course, the SC inquiry is just the latest misuse and abuse of quotations. There was Rep. Edmund Reyes, emulating Achilles in the movie “Troy,” shouting “Is there no one else?” in trying to get more signatures for the impeachment petition. Apparently, as in the movie, there was no one else.

Also, in the chambers of the House of Representatives, the late Rep. Wahab Akbar in a privileged speech claimed that “I am Basilan.” This seemed reminiscent of a scene in the movie “Kingdom of Heaven” where King Baldwin IV said “I am…Jerusalem.” Wahab Akbar is also dead. He died from that bomb blast in front of the Batasan Hall lobby last year. One would hope that his last thoughts were enlightened and eloquent at the moment of his death as I would like mine to be. But fate being what it is, my last words would probably be “Doh!”, a Homer Simpson favorite.

There is however, one movie quote I wouldn’t mind hearing and it is from the movie “Jerry Maguire.” In the event that Gloria Arroyo is somehow ousted from the presidency, I wouldn’t mind at all if she says, “You had me at ‘Hello’…Garci.”

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Let me introduce you to one of the most powerful phrases in the English language. It is “with all due respect.” This phrase allows you to hurl the vilest of insults without the one being insulted necessarily taking as much offense as the insult warrants.

You can tell someone “I'd like to call you an idiot but idiots would take offense” and at the very least you would cause offense. More likely, the idiot would have his bodyguards beat you up and shoot you. On the other hand, if you preface the insult with the phrase “with all due respect” you could even come across as being frank. Of course, if your name is Frank, you could also come across as someone with candor.

These four simple words let you appear deferential without being a hypocrite. You show respect but only that which is due the person you are insulting. That may also be an insult in itself as you are implying that little if any respect at all is due.

By averting or reducing the prospect of bodily harm or even death, one could then be more creative one's insults. For example, you could say, “With all due respect, you are nothing but eleven pounds of lying, thieving, cheating, contemptible, shit in a ten-pound sack.”

Or maybe not.

Lemons Into Lemonade

We can easily avert an impending power crisis if we could just be creative in our search for alternative sources of energy. First, a lesson in physics. We know that electricity is actually just the flow of electrons. That is why when we speak of electricity, we speak of electrical current. There is actually a current of electrons flowing from the power generation plants, through the transmission cables that rebels are fond of blowing up and some of our nefarious citizens are fond of stealing, through the power lines which so many of our citizens are fond of illegally tapping into, to our homes through the wires and finally into our our various appliances.

So how do you make electrons flow? One way, and this is also how the power plants do it, is to pass a coil of wire repeatedly through a magnetic field. The big power plants just do this in a much bigger scale but the principle is the same. Steam or flowing water (in the case of hydroelectric plants) is used cause a turbine to rotate in a magnetic field.

Second, a lesson in anthropology. In most cultures including ours, we believe whatever we do reflects on our ancestors. In some cases, we do things which our ancestors would have been violently opposed to had they been alive. But since they're not, they're said to spin in their graves. I suppose that the manner in which our ancestors spin in their graves depends in direct proportion to the transgression we commit. The bigger the shame we bring upon our ancestors, the faster our ancestors spin in their graves.

Now, let us put physics and anthropology to work. I am sure that former president Diosdado Macapagal, had he been alive today would be repulsed by what his daughter has been up to recently. Resurgent nationalism, which Macapagal made as his legacy is now but a distant memory. It was the late president who strove for the recognition of June 12 as our Independence Day, and not July 4. Now, our Independence Day is still June 12, as long as it falls on a Monday, thanks to his daughter. It is not just that. There's the agreement with the Chinese for the development of Spratlys' Islands supposedly just for joint exploration. There's also the Northrail and the National Broadband deals, also with China, under unconscionably onerous terms for the Philippine government and ultimately for the Filipino people. And recently, the [fortunately aborted signing of the] Memorandum of Agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (I hate to say MILF because MILF is better known outside the Philippines as a sub-genre of pornography) virtually ceding a substantial territory of the nation to the secessionist movement,

So, let's strap some magnets on Cong Dadong's remains, put coils of wire next to his body and let his daughter's weekly betrayal of the nation power us out of an impending energy crisis.

Two Problems, One Solution

I remember a long time ago, I was watching late night TV and flipping from one infomercial to another. As it happened, I switched from one infomercial advertising sex chat lines to another infomercial asking for donations to help feed famine stricken regions across the world. Apparently, there were a lot of horny people out there who would pay a lot of money for someone at the other end of the phone. On the other hand, it also seemed possible to feed an entire family in some third world country for an entire day just for the price of a cup of coffee. There were referring to just regular coffee, too. If it were coffee from Starbucks, you could probably feed an entire village for an entire week. But I digress....

Anyway, there it occurred to me that we could end world hunger if we could only get starving people to talk dirty over the phone. It is, as Joe de Venecia pre-NBN-ZTE scandal would say, a win-win proposition.

Kidding aside, it appears that we also have two problems that can solve each other.

Well, there's the growing trash problem perennially hounding our country. Metro Manila alone produces some 7,000 tons of trash daily. We are always running out of landfills when we could dump our trash. These landfills themselves give rise to a host of other problems such as pollution and the inevitable rise of squatter colonies.

And then, there's the energy problem. With fuel prices going up, electricity rates shouldn't be far behind.

If only we could turn the enormous amounts of trash we generate into electricity. Ah, but there is. And it's not the harvesting of methane from landfills. There are numerous problems associated with methane harvesting. First, the landfill has to be properly lined so that toxic materials do not seep out and contaminated groundwater. We don't really have a good record in developing the proper landfill, do we? Second, methane can not be harvested until the landfill is capped. That means that while the landfill is still operational, methane and other pollutants would be released in the air.

Plasma gasification. That's the process where high heat and high pressure turns carbon based materials to fuel which could then be used to generate electricity. It would not violate the Clean Air Act as it does not involve incineration and no toxic fumes are released into the atmosphere.

Now the only thing we need is to find a way for some administration flunkie to make an obscene amount of money brokering this deal. Maybe Ben Abalos can make this his "last hurrah," what with that ZTE-NBN deal falling through.