First of all, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has our people’s gratitude for the way he upheld our nation’s honor in the impeachment proceedings last May 22. By sheer sagacious statesmanship, he held our country together during those few perilous moments when Chief Justice Renato Corona left the witness stand and walked out of the session hall without seeking permission from the court. I was at the hallway outside the session hall and witnessed the high drama as it unfolded. Without Enrile at the helm, our country could have unraveled at its seams. The ensuing Senate lockdown is now part of Philippine legend.
Salamat po and congratulations po, Manong Johnny!
Second, and this is quite unfortunate, but I have to take this up with the Senate president because this is a question of respect and honor.
I do not believe that some elements of the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms (OSAA) treated our people in the same way the Senate President would. I am speaking on behalf of those people who lined up to get a ticket to the session hall. I had communicated the day before via telephone with the OSAA and talked with a certain Raul Herrera (if memory serves me right) who assured me that we would be treated fairly and just needed to line up. He told me that they’ve allocated 140 seats for people who would line up. He referred me to the Senate secretary’s office, and there, Ma’am Rossette confirmed to me that this matter was really OSAA’s responsibility.
However, the events on May 22 at the Senate front gate left much to be desired in the manner by which OSAA treated ordinary Filipinos, many of them senior citizens, who lined up to get their passes. For quite a while, no explanation was given as to why very few passes were being issued and only agency security guards were there without a supervising OSAA personnel.
A simple solution would have been to provide a space with closed circuit TV (similar to what the media got at the Recto Room) for the overflow crowd that could not be accommodated inside the session hall.
The point in all these is that our people, no matter what their station in life, should be treated the same way by our public officials. Ordinary Filipinos like myself and my colleague, Bey Puno, lined up, followed the rules, sweated in the sweltering heat but ended up being treated unfairly. Many of those who lined up simply gave up and went home frustrated.
We do not begrudge those who got reserved seats, arrived in cars, and were politely ushered into the Senate. We are just asking to be treated fairly and courteously.
Sana po ay hindi na maulit yung nangyari noong May 22.
—ROLANDO G. OCAMPO
Spokesperson,
Movement for Change and Good Governance;
lead convenor, Citizen Committee
to Celebrate the Andres Bonifacio
Sesquicentennial (in 2013);
member, Kamalaysayan,
rollyocampo@yahoo.com