By Alex P. Vidal
“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”—Dante Alighieri
SOME of those who were quick to “congratulate” former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog when the latter was acquitted in an administrative case in a 24-page decision promulgated on June 11, 2021 by the Court of Appeal’s 19th Division, were his former political allies.
The CA granted Mabilog’s petition assailing the decision issued by the Office of the Ombudsman on Aug. 27, 2019.
Some of them were the same political personalities who taped their own mouths and never said a word to denounce the cruel harassment Mabilog had endured from the loquacious and verbally abusive President Rodrigo Duterte since 2016.
Or at least belie the malicious and false accusations leveled against the crestfallen Mabilog, who now has found solace in Canada.
Where were they when Mabilog “needed” them most? Comforting words or moral support expressed in public couldn’t reverse the tragic political misfortune Mabilog had incurred from Emperor Digong, but these gestures would have been enough to cushion the impact of the unmitigated slander fired at Mabilog without let up from different angles.
Imposing and powerful words of support from these former political allies that would have given Mabilog the fighting chance to out-slick his detractors in the bar of public opinion, besmirched by lies after lies repeated like dizzying sirens from winged creatures.
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Now that the CA has cleared Mabilog, victory has many fathers, so to speak.
They can now suddenly “freely” express their feelings as regards Mabilog’s predicament; they aren’t anymore muzzled and, in fact, are “glad that the truth has come out.” Whoa.
There’s a lesson to learn in this episode. Friendships, with or without politics, are one of the most important pillars in life.
They make up the support system; a sanctuary where friends can share the good and the bad, and really feel understood. True friends and political allies stand up for one another.
When powerful characters like Emperor Digong try to intimidate and persecute them, they must do everything they can to make sure they will continue to stay afloat and survive the political Pearl Harbor like in Mabilog’s case.
True political allies will defend each other anytime, anywhere, even without the election with no reservation or reward.
Real political allies are not those who repeatedly tell each other negative things their rivals and detractors say about them.
Real political allies standby consistently and don’t abandon each other even in the face of imminent slaughter from the ruling political party. Still probably hurting from some of his former political allies’ eerie silence during the reign of terror, Mabilog must be telling them in his mind: “Thanks, but no thanks. Dark clouds may have hovered around me, but truth and justice will work them out—even without you and your hypocrisy.”
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THE Diaz ladies are the first: Gloria Diaz, the first Filipino Miss Universe in 1969 and Hidilyn Diaz, the first Filipino Olympic Games gold medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Games (held in 2021 because of the pandemic).
The Marcos couple was the first: Ferdinand and Imelda, the first to land in the pages of the Guinness Book of World Records for being we-all know-what.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)
