KAMANGMANGAN

HINDI sana lumaki ang isyu ng classroom decor kung naiintindihan ng kalihim ng Deped ang trabaho niya at ang totoong usapin. Ang hindi gusto ng mga saksi ay ang katampalasan ng ilang opisyal ng Deped na iutos ilagay ang larawan ng kalihim sa mga silid-aralan.

Hindi pumayag ang mga mapagmatyag dahil hindi diyosa ang kalihim upang ilagay ang kanyang larawan sa mga klase. Hindi malaman kung mayroon o walang pahintulot ng kalihim ang utos. Pero hindi ito ang isyu. Hindi nga ito hinarap ng kalihim.

Labis na napahiya ang kalihim sa puna. Nagbangong puri at nagbaba ng memorandum order sa lahat ng sangay ng Deped sa buong bansa na tanggalin ang lahat ng decor sa mga klase. Walang ititira; kailangan alisin kahit learning aid.

Tanggalin ang alfabeto, mga numero, larawan ng mga bayani at santo, larawan niya. Tanggalin ang lahat ng nakikita sa mga silid-aralan. Basta walang dekorasyon.

Hindi pinag-isipan ang order. Hindi pinag-aral at binigyan ng akmang pansin. Basta bara-bara; suntok Bisaya; istilong Bisakol; walang direksyon. Ganyan sa burukrasya. Kapag masyadong nagmamagaling ang kalihim o sinumang pinuno, hindi tinutulungan ng mga ibaba. Hinayaan ang nagmagaling na magkalat. At nagkalat siya.

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PINAG-INITAN ang mga learning aid sa mga silid-aralan. Hindi niya alam na kailangan ng mga mag-aaral ang mga learning aid. Tumutulong ang mga ito upang mapabilis na matutuhan nila ang mga paksang aralin. Tanging ang larawan niya ang dapat alisin sapagkat hindi awtorisado. Hindi siya bayani at mas lalong hindi siya bayani.

Ang dapat alisin ay ang larawan ng sinumang pulitiko sa silid-aralan. Hindi dapat magmukhang selda ng mga bilanggo o silid ng mga maysakit ang silid-aralan. Hindi dapat mukhang bilangguan o ospital ang mga paaralan. Hindi namin alam kung normal ang takbo ng pag-iisip na kalihim Ang alam natin ay tanda ito ng kabobohan, kamangmangan, at katangahan. Kawawa ang mga batang mag-aaral. Sila ang naiipit.

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ISINULAT ko ito noong 2017 nang humagip sa bansa ang madugo pero nabigong giyera kontra droga ni Rodrigo Duterte. May halaga pa rin ang munting sanaysay dahil naglulungga pa rin sa gobyerno ang mga kabilang sa puwersa ni Duterte. Pakibasa:

THE NINOY AQUINO ASSASSINATION IN RETROSPECT

Hindsight is always 20/20.

Had opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. returned to the Philippines in 1983 and opted to stay as a laid back academic in the United States, the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos could have extended a little longer, probably a decade or two. Who knows Imelda Marcos could have followed Ferdinand, and then children Imee and Ferdinand Jr.

But Ninoy Aquino thwarted their political plans to establish a dynasty by going home. He had decided to present himself as a democratic alternative just in case the dictator’s kidney surgery worsened, leading him to die eventually. At that time, a kidney transplant operation was not a perfected surgery much unlike today.

Ninoy Aquino’s single act of bravery and moral courage pursued and done at the most crucial moment in history virtually altered the political equation. It deflated the planned takeover of Imelda and Gen. Fabian Ver, the dictator’s loyal aide, who rose to become the Armed Forces chief of staff. His homecoming put them in an awkward situation, prompting them to pull the trigger and kill Ninoy Aquino.

Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, which was treacherously done on the airport tarmac in the early afternoon of Aug. 21, 1983, gave the single spark that torched the Marcos dictatorship. It was the single event that galvanized a single anti-dictatorship front, uniting the various anti-Marcos forces from all walks of life – from the perfumed elite of the Makati business district to the poor and hungry farm hands.

It led to a series of events that exposed the weaknesses of the Marcos dictatorship, particularly the dictator’s lack of mandate. Cornered like a scalded cat, Marcos had no choice but to call the Feb. 7, 1986 “snap” presidential elections that resulted in massive cheating and fraud to mar the purported political victory of Marcos.

In brief, the murder of Ninoy Aquino was one of the series of antecedents that led to the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, the single defining moment in history, where the Filipino people, in their exercise of sovereign right, toppled an overstaying dictator from Malacanang. Aside from becoming the universal template on how to topple dictators, the EDSA Revolution has led to the restoration of democracy.

The Philippine political experience teeters on two themes: democracy and authoritarianism. While we acknowledge the need for a democratic government that upholds the Constitution, the rule of the law and individual rights and freedom, a part of our polity favors authoritarian rule purportedly to promote national security.

Ninoy Aquino’s murder and the subsequent EDSA Revolution shatter this doctrine of national security. It is a strongman’s doctrine to institutionalize an authoritarian rule and prolong his stay in power.

Fast forward to the present. We could sense an ongoing counterrevolution to invalidate the gains of EDSA Revolution and destroy Ninoy Aquino’s legacy and time-tested adage that “the Filipino is worth dying for.” We see a deranged president who wants to touch the nerve of history to prove that the restored democracy is a fluke.

We see authoritarian forces who want to revise history and present the sacrifice of Ninoy Aquino and other democratic heroes are not worth remembering at all. But against the backdrop of the conspiracy of anti-democratic elements, we see Ninoy Aquino’s legacy rising above the tempest of authoritarian tendencies.

The counterrevolution is bound to fail. Yes, the Filipino is worth fighting for.

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MGA SALITANG DAPAT TANDAAN: “ Bagong Kataga: Jayngungaling – mga taong mahilig magsinungaling o iyong mga taong hindi nagsasabi ng totoo.” – Rollie Par Landon, netizen

“Kindergarten pupils need visual learning aids like the alphabet, numbers, etc. Such visual aids inject knowledge, cognitive recognition. Even quotes like ‘honesty is the best policy.’ Is this Sara’s response to criticisms of her photo displayed above the blackboard?” – Antonio J. Montalvan II, netizen, journalist, critic