ENDEAVOR
Viewing the live television coverage of President Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, July 22, proved to be an engaging experience. His delivery was clear and confident. Evidently, he had rehearsed for it adequately – shown by his well-paced delivery and good eye contact – as he read effortlessly from two teleprompter screens.
On SONA reportage, the banner headlines of all major national broadsheets were nearly the same as the Manila Bulletin’s: “Marcos: All POGOs are banned.” They picked up the cue from the massive standing ovation that welcomed the announcement. A few minutes earlier, the audience at the Batasang Pambansa gave him a similarly enthusiastic standing ovation after he commended the armed forces for their staunch defense of the West Philippine Sea.
The manner in which he ended his speech after receiving these twin rousing commendations from the live audience is particularly instructive. He said: “Mga minamahal kong kababayan, lagi nating labanan ang mali at ang masama. Lagi po natin ipaglaban ang tama at ang mabuti. Lagi po natin mahalin ang Pilipinas. Lagi po nating mahalin ang Pilipino.”
(My dear countrymen: Let us always fight what is wrong and evil. Let us always fight for what is right and good. Let us always love the Philippines. Let us always love our fellow Filipinos.”)
At first blush, I was reminded of the popular saying from Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
Further research yielded this lengthier quotation, attributed to John Stuart Mill, the most important British philosopher of the 19th century who was an advocate of philosophical utilitarianism, and as Rector of the University of St Andrews. Here are key excerpts from his inaugural address on Feb. 1, 1867:
“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name... and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”
The foregoing was quoted by President Marcos in his speech. We might as well know what else was said by the philosopher Mill as he continued his discourse: “It depends on the habit of attending to and looking into public transactions, and on the degree of information and solid judgment respecting them that exists in the community, whether the conduct of the nation as a nation, both within itself and towards others, shall be selfish, corrupt, and tyrannical, or rational and enlightened, just and noble.”
To reiterate the key passage: “He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name... and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”
The philosopher Mill emphasizes that good people must not stand idly by and passively witness the commitment of wrongful acts, because their minds are capable of comprehending the significance of such acts and the harm these could inflict on individuals and society.
Mindful of this grave responsibility, the President must lead the way in calling out what is wrong and evil, and ensure that the country is shielded from negative consequences.
He began by focusing on the high price of rice, stating that this was a top-of-mind concern of millions of impoverished Filipinos in the countryside – and declaring that this rendered meaningless claims that the country was among the best-performing in Asia in terms of annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP).
He ended by driving home key points on two gut issues afflicting Filipinos: the continuing tensions in the West Philippine Sea and POGO operations.
Let’s review what the President said about POGOs in his SONA:
“At ngayon po, naririnig po naming ang malakas na sigaw ng taumbayan laban sa mga POGO. Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas farthest from gaming, such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture – even murder. The grave abuse and disrespect to our system must stop.
“Kailangan nang itigil ang panggugulo nito sa ating Lipunan, at paglalapastangan sa ating bansa. [standing ovation]
“Effective today, all POGOs are banned. [continued applause]
His unequivocal assertion of Philippine sovereignty elicited a similarly enthusiastic response by way of a standing ovation:
“Ang West Philippine Sea ay hindi kathang-isip lamang. Ito ay atin. [applause] At ito ay mananatiling atin , hangga’t nag-aalab ang diwa ng ating minamahal na bansang Pilipinas...Sa ating Sandatahang Lakas, sa Coast Guard, at sa ating mga mangingisda sa West Philippine Sea: “Tangggapin ninyo ang pasasalamat ng buong bansa, dahil sa inyong ginagawang pagmamatyag at sakripisyo. [applause]
Aside from these two major highlights, the response of the audience to his report on the campaign against drug abuse was also noteworthy, as it provided a stark contrast to the way the members of Congress viewed this national concern during the previous administration. Before he transitioned to the sphere of international relations, including ASEAN, then on to the ticklish sovereignty issues that has placed the country at loggerheads with China, he beamed on this topic:
“On the fight against dangerous drugs, our bloodless war...adheres, and will continue to adhere, to the established “8 Es” of an effective anti-illegal drugs strategy. Extermination was never one of them.” [applause]
He proceeded to cite statistics on seizure of illegal drugs; arrests of high-value target personalities, including government employees and uniformed personnel; freezing of dirty money and assets; and a high drug conviction rate of 79 percent –- all of which similarly drew prolonged applause.
In sum, it was a comprehensive, fairly accurate report that evoked resonance because it addressed the core concerns of the citizenry.