I am not an icon chaser.
I do not idolize people and put them on a pedestal. So, at this juncture you already understand why the subject of this piece is such.
So many Filipinos have decried the CA rejection of Lopez, stressing the line (spin) that money changed hands, that business (the mining tycoons) eventually won the battle.
That is unfair and a very sweeping statement. If we accept this school of thought, then every CA member who voted for Lopez’ rejection received a bundle of lobby money.
I do not believe that every senator or congressman has a price tag.
Gina Lopez may have registered her points popularly but to a degree she displayed a lack of respect for the law. While her crusading ways far elicited praises from environmentalists and those who have suffered from irresponsible mining operations, Lopez exceeded the limits of the law nonetheless.
By circumstance, she belonged to a well-landed family which was not of her choice. The ABS-CBN network continue to disparage her (former) boss – Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. Freedom of the press is not absolute.
By careful analysis, Lopez should correct the misinformation being peddled by the giant TV-radio network even as for less than a year, she was appointed and given a chance to prove her worth as a public servant by the authority whom the media conglomerate dislikes.
If she fails to do that, can citizens then assume she does not care if the present administration is being destructively criticized by her close kin who owns and operates the media network for as long as her personal star keep on rising?
Affected social media participants are now moving to force her to run for the senate In the 2019 mid-term polls. A religious soul even quipped Lopez is good material for the presidency in 2022.
Hmmm…something is cooking. Can you smell it?
Incidentally, by 2020 the ABS franchise is expiring. Pres. Digong has expressed his view not to renew it. Well and good.
What say you, netizens?
The Filipino electorate, I am sad to say, is easily impressionable. The Pinoy masa is easily swayed by media avalanche that favors a certain personality. They are attracted by the bandwagon mentality, a tool used by political operators to enable their candidates to win in a landslide.
Yes, I am no fan of Gina Lopez. I appreciate her noble intentions to curb irresponsible mining. But there are laws to observe and there are legal processes to follow. We are a government of laws and not of men.
She does not have a monopoly of good intentions. If Filipinos think she is the last of our long lines of choices, they are completely wrong. There are many more people as capable as her (if not more) who can do the job without circumventing the laws that govern us – with as much political will.
She could have given the culprits whom she caught violating the provisions of the law a day in court. One cannot just rectify a wrong by unilaterally applying the penalty/ies for such.
I used to think – before the coming of Duterte – that our country is already beyond repair. Corruption was everywhere – in Malacanang, at the BIR and Bureau of Customs, inside the courtrooms and prosecution offices. Rogue cops, including generals, were on the payroll of every crime syndicate – gambling, illegal drugs, smuggling, etc. In every nook and cranny of the bureaucratic service, the multi-headed hydra of corruption was rearing its ugly head.
These have all changed after Duterte’s election. There is hope that real change is coming.
So, folks, don’t cry for Gina Lopez. Argentina didn’t cry for Eva. (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
