Good Morning Judge: Wrong side of history

AS President Rodrigo Roa Duterte continues to wage his war against government corruption and illegal drug use and trafficking, let me take this opportunity to re-print what I wrote in this column sometime in 2011 dealing on the same subject. I said then and I quote: “I wonder if the country is on the ‘wrong side of history’ under the present leadership and administration of President GMA. With all the corruption and scandals surrounding her administration: the P728 million fertilizer scam, the money laundering scam in the military under her stewardship as commander-in-chief, and the unabated murders and homicides which recently earned a place for the Philippines in the Guinness Book of Records, all these seem to indicate that indeed we are on the ‘wrong side of history’ xxx.” “But first and foremost, it may be said that the judgment call of the day is morality both in private life and in government service. More than economic prosperity, more than military might, government needs the trust of the people in order to govern effectively, There is thus the unbending obligation on the part of those who lead government to provide its moral ballast. A government that is morally fragile cannot withstand the evil that will buffet it. To be sure, a government afflicted with moral leprosy deserves nothing but the graveyard. “But everything is not lost in the country. As I have said in my previous column, hope springs eternal. And to paraphrase US President Obama, we must have the values upon which our success depends: hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism. Perhaps, it is only then that we can have a noble society, where homage is paid not to wealth or power but to worth and work; a proud society where poverty chains no man to the plow, forces no woman to prostitute her charms, and condemns no child to beg for rice; a free society where men and women and children of all regions and all talents, may find truth, and play and sing, and laugh and love in freedom, a just society where government rules with equal justice for all, and leaders not only speak well but speak true, and independent society where public powers are used for public good and not for private gains of some Filipinos and foreigners only; a disciplined society, where men and women think in terms of the rights of others rather than their own rights; and an honored society that has earned the respect of all nations because it is itself, depends on itself, thinks for itself, and seeks to live in peace and brotherhood with all men of all ages and of all creeds.” Seven years have come and gone and we believe that the scenario depicted above very well exists today. Happy Easter to all. QUOTATION OF THE WEEK “LOVE OF COUNTRY IS NOT AN OUTBURST OF THE EMOTION BUT A TRANQUIL DEDICATION OF A LIFETIME.” SOTERO LAUREL FOR OUR WORD OF LIFE: “GOD IS LOVE, AND WHOEVER REMAINS IN LOVE REMAINS IN GOD.” 1 JOHN 4:16