It Ain't Over Til It's Over

It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over

Malacañang would like us to believe that it’s over and that we need to focus on our economy. Furthermore, because the administration believes that negative news reports do not help our image in the international scene, we do not have the right to know everything that is going on.

There was no apology this time, and no admission of lapse in judgment. As if the arrests and shutdowns since Friday were not enough, the administration threatened a more serious response – to what exactly, we need to know – but promised there would not be martial law.

A rose by any other name is still a rose.

We developed migraines last Friday after everything that happened, yet could not turn off our TV sets. We wanted to know every bit of detail regarding what was happening in our country. During the past weekend, there were little to no updates from the media and we felt a strange sense of withdrawal. It was an eerie silence, for we knew that the country was still under a state of emergency, and the bits and pieces we gathered from different sources showed that a lot of things were going on, but being mere ordinary citizens, we were not privy to the truth, the whole truth.

The ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) on cable and local TV started reporting interesting news at 3 p.m., but it was painful to watch. In the middle of conversations, they would cut the speaker off. Warnings from the NTC and Sec. Saludo against airing information that might incite to sedition or rebellion or insinuate withdrawal by the military from the chain of command took its toll on the media.

In our house, we were singing Bayan Ko. Lights were turned off around Fort Bonifacio, where politicians and civil society groups rallied around Col. Querubin following the controversial removal of Gen. Miranda. Because it was too dark, reporters could not see how many people were present and on the way. Former Pres. Cory Aquino was almost prevented from entering Fort Bonifacio. We could not believe what was happening.

So many questions and we citizens remain in the dark.

For my part, I locked myself in my room, lit a candle, prayed the rosary, and interceded like I had never done before for my country. I wanted to be able to trust Somebody. I wanted to be assured that violence would not erupt, and that our people were protected by Someone more powerful than all the forces combined in the camps.

There are many principles and agendas involved in this crisis. There are those who adhere to the chain of command. There are those who protect the Constitution. There are those who protect their friends. There are those who have simply had enough and are willing to wait until the President steps down.

All of us Filipinos need a loyalty check as to who we worship, whom we follow, and whom we listen to. We may have noble aspirations but if the means we are taking to achieve those ends are not justifiable in the eyes of our God, then we should take a step back. We should never allow the enemy to take advantage of our confusion in order to cause us to be part of suffering for others, or to aggravate already tense and complicated situations.

There is a Somebody who can protect, guard, save and guide us. Let us turn to God more deeply and bend our knees in prayer.

We are all in the dark as to what will happen, but Jesus is our light and our salvation. Let us hold on to that. For this crisis is far from over. People have to answer for a lot of things. We need to understand, and we need to know the truth. Once we know the truth, we need to act based upon it.

In all these, let us pray without ceasing.