The Nene on my mind
By Antonio J. Montalvan II

PICTURES say a thousand words, so it is said. The Inquirer's front page photo of Fernando Poe Jr. and Loren Legarda alongside the Marcoses on stage in an Ilocos rally immediately sent chills down the spines of those who continue to hold traumatic memories of the martial law years. And rightly so, there was an instantaneous response from many peoples' organizations which can now clearly see -- thanks to that Inquirer photo -- where FPJ's much vaunted "heart" truly lies.

But wait. Look closely at the photo. For there on the center, framed between our Marcosian personae, is the face of a beaming Juan Ponce Enrile, who, in case we have forgotten, was the Grand Inquisitor of Marcos. Enrile, in case we missed out on the news, has recently "apologized" to the Marcoses for ousting Marcos in Edsa. What a grand balimbing deception this guy is putting us into, unless he is now afflicted with incoherent memory which, as the text messages have been saying, is reason enough for voting him out of this election and instead "send him back to the home for the aged."

But I wanted to see more into that picture. And I was particularly searching for the face of Nene Pimentel whose comportment on a Marcos stage should not just be a subject of our curiosity but a basis for our electing him again to the Senate. For Nene, in case we have forgotten, was the subject of the Marcos-Enrile inquisition, and who is now on the same stage with his tormentors. Surrealism has always been the mark of Philippine elections, but to many this is simply stretching the imagination too far.

Fortunately for Nene, his face did not show up on that photo. Still that leaves much for guesswork. Did he dance the ocho-ocho with Imee? Was he applauding before the Ilocano public Enrile's apology to Imelda? Did he plant a beso-beso on Imelda's tear-stricken face? I would rather close my eyes if I see Nene doing all that. It would be unacceptable.

I was a young student in college when I saw the droves of people who marched on the streets of Cagayan de Oro to denounce Marcos' incarceration of Nene. Then archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, Patrick Cronin, had issued a pastoral letter expressing lament on the arrest of the city mayor. By then, Nene was already languishing in jail in Camp Sotero Cabahug in Cebu.

And so when the street marchers came out in droves, there were no fiery speeches nor agitation propaganda. Nary a sound could be heard beyond the shuffling of feet on the hot asphalt. It was a silent indignation so profound. A statement was being said en masse against Marcos, and it was being said so eloquently. This was the height of martial law and the popular form of discourse was fear. Having gone out this far was a feat of courage for Nene's constituents. That left an indelible imprint on my memory.

The intervening years have blurred that memory. In the beginning there was consistency. The Nene of post-EDSA as the controversial secretary of local government, embroiled in the brouhaha over the appointments of the so-called OICs (officers in charge). That was a time of mayhem for the man, but what mattered most was the removal of several local politicos and warlords identified with Marcos and for which Nene showed mettle. That was an effective "demarcosification."

But the Estrada presidency was no demarcosification. It was, in fact, in more ways than one, a photocopy of the Marcosian brand. Mindanao was besieged by war by a commander in chief who alighted from a helicopter dressed to kill in military camouflage. Hashim Salamat's fortress in Camp Abubakar was taken over, but not before Erap's military feasted on haram lechon in an Islamic mosque. And this was the Mindanao which Estrada had touted as "Erap country" during his 40 percent-rating poll-surveyed campaign for the presidency. And that is why Manila-based Tausug Amina Rasul-Bernardo's 2004 pronouncement of Mindanao as "FPJ country" should put us on a reality check.

But Nene was instead palsy-walsy with the pork-feasting and Mindanao-bashing Erap. Erap it was who flew directly to Cagayan de Oro, with no official business on hand but to act as godfather to Coco Pimentel's wedding. But Erap it was too who forlornly crossed the Pasig and was later being fingerprinted in Camp Crame as a pathetic figure in Filipino history, while Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was being sworn in at Edsa on a microphone that was being held by Nene.

The Filipino psyche is being subjected to jarring merry-go-rounds. We must be used to it by now. We are no longer surprised. But prancing on stage with the Marcoses is unforgivable. Much more so in Mindanao which probably suffered the most under the Marcos-Enrile inquisition.

A colleague in a Mindanao e-mail net, impassioned by the call of "never again" to martial law and who counts Nene as member, posted this query: How come no one has commented about Nene's recent posturings? Is it because his position is now clear to all of us here?

Silence.

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