By now, many will have squeezed the so-called Manila Peninsula rebellion for all it is worth. I do not want to make what will be tail-end commentary. At the same time, I believe it is necessary for us to understand that the incident was not the first against Gloria nor will it be the last. In a larger sense, Gloria is not the first president against whom a rebellion was mounted. At the rate we are going, she will not be last as well.

A moment has arisen in the history of Filipinos, in the evolution of a nation-to-be, when suppressed aspirations cannot be totally contained anymore and are beginning to manifest indirectly. It is not an isolated trend. The recorded history of mankind shows a background of theocracy, monarchy, dictatorship, authoritarianism, socialism and democracy. Most if not all of the countries in the world belong to one of these or the other, or transitioning from one to the other. The direction, though, is clear. It is going toward empowerment of the majority from the traditional control of the few.

Suppressed aspirations, then, will eventually find full and direct expression. The direction of individual freedom from collective subservience defines the dynamics of the world. There is a long way to go when two-thirds of mankind is poor, the subliminal being that poverty is caused by greed and corruption more than by a shortage of natural and manufactured resources. Poverty and despotism keep billions under forced submission, but evolution favors freedom and human rights.

There were two major categories of reactions to the Trillanes-led Peninsula affair. The first spoke out against the initiative, calling the so-called rebellion a mere power grab with political overtones, and so destructive to social order and economic progress. The second sympathized with the rebellious move but wondered why there seemed a serious lack of planning, of poor timing, and wrong methodology.

For years, Gloria has had the singular achievement of being quite unpopular but most resilient. She has been accused of dedicating so much focus and resources to holding on to power. It is a natural criticism by her enemies to someone who has been consistently unpopular for so long, just as it is as natural for a presidency to defend itself against moves to eliminate it. For as long as she remains unpopular, for whatever reason, she will wait for future moves to eliminate her presidency. Her enemies, too, must accept that she will intensify efforts to defend her position, her family and her life.

Filipinos must expect to go through this ping-pong of offensive and defensive moves -- because they will most probably continue. A country with grave fundamental flaws cannot expect otherwise. It has to address those flaws, and those flaws are deeper and go beyond Gloria. At most, she can perpetuate and aggravate the flaws, or institute reforms that demand the utmost of political will.

Political, social, economic, and religious leadership has been elitist in nature and composition for centuries -- at the very least. Colonialism has been a convenient whipping boy as the cause of corruption and poverty. In truth, it has its major share of blame. In truth, even the “datu” system and its nature of governance, which had operated before the advent of Spanish occupation, were not democratic, either.

We find ourselves inside a process bigger than ourselves. It is called evolution, the undeniable force that represents the dynamics of life in its present form toward its future configuration. We can influence evolution in our personal area of life, tune our decisions toward what we believe to be good, better and best. As individuals, we do influence the whole. As individuals, we must also realize how little influence we can contribute.

If we do not realize that we are walking through a human process that encompasses our historical context, then we would have blind spots in our understanding and cannot develop an intelligent vision and action plan. We will end up blaming Gloria and not the more fundamental flaw which she may only be a representative of. We did the same thing with Ferdinand Marcos, we did the same thing with Estrada, and yet it is not over because we thought it was all due to a person and not it is also a collective perspective and attitude.

Corruption is not the brainchild of Gloria. If we go by accepted definitions, corruption has been the major motivation and methodology of monarchies, of tyrannies, of colonial imperialism, of dictatorships and authoritarian governments. The operable word is exploitation. Corruption exploits for personal gain and uses power or authority to
do so. Having been so, corruption has long been the norm rather than the exception. In a country that has been inflicted with over three centuries of colonial rule and exploitation, it is not strange that leaders of the present times have leaders of the past and their pattern of exploitation as their role models.

Hastening the democratization of Philippine society, which we hope will be the major factor in dismantling corruption, can be more effectively accomplished with our eyes wide open not only to Gloria's shortcomings or sins. We have to confront a national malaise, our malaise, as well as the misrule and abuse of our societal leaders. And
it is not only in the political world where governance can be corrupt; it can be in any leadership in any field where corruption can reign.

Most of all, it will be our familiarity to corruption and our tolerance of it that keeps our freedom out of our reach, that makes integrity and nobility only storybook virtues.

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Responses can be sent to jlmglimpses@gmail.com.

Previous columns:
Our collective shame – 11/30/07
Ask the poor – 11/22/07
Sad and enraged – 11/16/07
What is our tomorrow? – 11/09/07
The quadrant of corruption – 11/02/07
A second look at the Church – 10/26/07
Nation building – 10/19/07