A noble act by Binay?

“BEING A president is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding; or he gets swallowed,” Harry S. Truman, a former president of the United States, once said. This metaphor very well fits Vice President Jejomar Binay in his present predicament. Because of the corruption charges against him—which could even lead to his impeachment—he can be likened to a wounded aspiring rider of a tiger. The very smell of fresh blood from his wounds lures the tiger to devour him even before he can mount the beast. Or if by a stroke of fate he would still be able to do so, the blood dripping from his wounds would compel the tiger to exploit any opportunity to dislodge and feast on him.

But why did the Vice President insist on refusing to appear before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearing chaired by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III and there to cross swords with his accusers to prove them wrong and himself innocent, if only to stop them from inflicting wounds on him?

Neither a sworn affidavit nor the ranting against the Aquino administration’s selective justice would quell the issue. Never mind being treated like a “punching bag” in the course of the investigation. All the more he could have played his game as an underdog, thus gained sympathy from the watchful public and emerged victorious.

How disgraceful it is that a once valiant defender of the poor and the oppressed (especially of overseas Filipino workers) and a noted Mabini lawyer and staunch defender of human rights, now shies away from a fight where his own honor and dignity are at stake.

“A chasing after the wind,” said King Solomon, in reference to his great and wondrous works after he was “tainted” by his own miscues. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless,” he added.

Like Solomon, Binay may have immensely amazing past accomplishments to his name. His past success may even be considered phenomenal, especially if the measure is how far he has gone up from his humble beginnings. But what good would it serve him if the supposedly malicious charges against him would not be dropped?

The true test of a good candidate is who can tame the tiger, so to speak. If Binay can’t get out of the deep hole he is in right now, why not give way to someone else eyeing the presidency—with the least of scars, that is, if no one can be found spotless? This noble deed of self-sacrifice of his might yet do wonders for our country.

—ARMANDO LIBRANDO ALPAY, c/o judithalpay@yahoo.com