Thou shall not steal.... VP Jejomar Cabauatan Binay and the third commandment By EFREN N. PADILLASeptember 9, 2014 3:16pm 1135 20 0 1620 Tags: Jejomar Cabauatan Binay Hearing Vice President Jejomar Binay denying the testimony of his former vice mayor in Makati at a Senate blue ribbon committee investigation —that he received kickbacks from the construction of the Makati City Halls overpriced P2.3-billion building— sent shivers down my spine. I don’t know why I reacted that way, but hearing him say: “Sa Diyos at sa tao, taas-noo kong sinasabi na wala akong tinanggap o hiningi na anumang pera sa proyektong ito o anumang proyekto sa Makati (Before God and people, I hold my head up high and say that I never received or asked any money for this project or any project in Makati),” stunned me. More so, it terrified me. I wish he defended himself in another way. I know politicians always deny wrongdoings when they are accused, but couldnt he have denied it without using God’s name? But he did! As a supposedly God-fearing and Marian devotee of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, why would he do that? Why would he endanger himself by blaspheming his God? Whether it is true or not, why would he risk using God’s name in vain? Is it not enough for Vice President Jejomar Binay that the “madlang people” are silent about his family’s spectacular rise to political power, and extraordinary accumulation of expensive homes in exclusive neighborhoods and properties, in such a short period of time given his humble family origins? Why would you use God’s name to defend yourself? The third commandment says: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” A genuine and serious believer who reads Moses’ account of how God came down from Mount Sinai to give the Ten Commandments would tremble in fear. Moses told us that God descended from the mountain in fire and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and with thunder and lightning and a thick cloud and a very loud trumpet blast, the whole mountain trembled greatly. And guess what? This is precisely what happened to all the people that Moses brought out of the camp to meet God. Did Vice President Jejomar Binay tremble in fear upon invoking Gods name? I dont know his answer but it is a scary thought —that a potential highest national leader will do that or had done it. Sadly, many so-called believers in our country no longer fear their so-called God. It is ironic that in a country steeped in religious fervor, many politicians do not take their religion seriously and honestly anymore. They like to give you the impression that it is a big deal for them, but it is really not, judging on how they behave. And why is that? I think it is because politics and religion are so intertwined in our national socialization and consciousness that they become indistinguishable, especially when it comes to the obsession with power-grabbing. And talking about power-grab, I am reminded of Svengali, a fictional character in George du Mauriers 1895 novel Trilby. The story tells of Svengali who seduces and controls Trilby into becoming a great singer using hypnosis. Of course, without Svengali, Trilby cannot perform. Just like our power grabbers, they seduce and control particularly the “great unwashed” to do their bidding for power and make them helpless and dependent. Oh, how quickly we are reminded of the charming and bewitching entrepreneurship of our political and religious personae, and the involuntary ignorance of the lived experiences of our people. Is there a difference between the likes of Binay, Estrada, Marcos, Arroyo, Enrile, Revilla, Velarde, Quiboloy, Manalo, Soriano, et cetera? For me, there is none. Our political reality is that religion is now simply a sinister means rather than a noble end to pursue. In this Christian nation, anyone can now become a Svengali-like political or religious character who covets power by all means, even if it means damning one’s soul or undermining one’s sense of personal integrity. Unfortunately, it is just that. I have encountered people in our country whose daily lives revolve around being hypnotized by political and religious quacks, whose pronouncements and admonitions don’t have significance beyond treading the cesspool of falsehoods and warped objectives. How can you like a guy who pays a religious leader for his group’s solid vote? How can you like a guy who tells you that he is the newly-appointed “Son of God?” How can you like a guy who sells en bloc votes for political candidates? Whenever I encounter these charlatans, and this is happening with increasing frequency, I am always astonished in disbelief. These “wolves in sheeps clothing” make their victims feel helpless and debase them to the level of slave mentality over and over again. This is how politically and religiously low we have gotten ourselves into. As harsh as this may sound, in the Philippines, anyone can now be made worthless and powerless by just a mere overpriced “cake.” Is there hope for us? I think there is. There is a noble goal whose end game is to inform the people honestly and factually. This means that the only way to debunk lies and to uncover the truth is to research and present the facts, facts, and more facts. If one gets clobbered because he/she is telling lies, and if one gets validated because he/she is telling the truth, so be it. I am glad that our people still have an advocate whose job is also to research the issues and to present the facts, to debunk the lies, and to tell the truth—the incorruptible news media! As the Good Old Book reminded us once more, “and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of this website. gmanetwork/news/story/378370/opinion/blogs/vp-jejomar-binay-and-the-third-commandment
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 08:32:24 +0000
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