H

“What are we in power for?” said to have bellowed then Senate President Jose Avelino in a Malacañang caucus on Jan. 15, 1949, the echoes of which still reverberate as Philippine history’s evilest quote ever said by an elected official.

Albeit later fine-tuned by an Ilocano congressman present in that caucus who claimed it was willfully misquoted by a news reporter, it has refused to die because it accurately metaphors the corrupt state of Philippine public office.

Move over, Avelino. The sequel has come: “Honesty should not be an election issue” — more bizarre than Avelino’s, now paling in comparison. Sans nary a trace of scruples, it openly screws the Constitution: “The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and takes positive and effective measures against graft and corruption” (Article II, Section 27).

Public servants are tasked for the conversion of citizens to abide by the law instead of breaking the law. Twisting the Constitution for political convenience to hide fraudulence is betrayal of the oath they are sworn to. They lose the mandate to serve. When even the President’s daughter denies time-honored values enshrined in the Constitution, you know the country is in deep dung.

Adel Abillar wrote the finest spoof of the coming elections (Opinion, 3/10/19) that should exactly fit what the President’s daughter wants. It is about “how well the candidates can lie with a straight face… a lot of singing and dancing… until the contest comes down to who can demonstrate the most vomit-inducing behavior in public.”

As rightly parodied, the slogan of the candidate named “Dumbly” will surely rout the candidate with the “Vote Wisely” slogan. How true that arrogance exploits ignorance.

Indeed the lawyer mayor of Davao City has no “h” to her name but she has heaps of it by way of hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris hubris

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On Twitter: @AntonioJMontal2. E-mail: [email protected]