I was dismayed by the call of two bishops for President Aquino to resign on the belief that he “has no sympathy for the SAF casualties” or that “he is incompetent.”
Even granting that the President did not demonstrate overt sympathy (as one would have wished) by being absent from Villamor Air Base during the arrival of the 44 fallen Special Action Force commandos, was it enough basis for him to resign?
And by what yardstick can he be judged “incompetent”? P-Noy, an incompetent president? He who caused the impeachment of a chief justice; brought the previous president to face charges in our court, and three incumbent senators to answer charges for plunder; or sat with the MILF at the negotiating table and forged a Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro that hopefully will finally bring peace and progress to Muslim Mindanao? Never mind that in his four years as president, we achieved economic growth that allowed our country to shed its previous status as the “sick man of Asia.”
I can understand if some ideologues or political enemies of the President use the Mamasapano firefight (certainly not a massacre) as reason to call for his resignation. But I certainly expect sobriety from religious leaders in this complicated and emotionally-charged atmosphere, at a time when too much is at stake for our country’s future.
Let us wait for the results of the various ongoing fact-finding investigations before assigning wrongdoing or culpability to anyone. And just as importantly, let’s take to heart lessons from this sad experience.
—MELITO M. RICAFRENTE, melito@mydestiny.net