For now, for this, Bravo, Aquino!

Ever heard, in the history of this republic, of a former president and senators being detained on plunder charges?

We can set that aside, and instead focus on, say, the non-inclusion of perceived allies of the administration in the filing of cases against those implicated in the infamous pork-barrel scam, or perhaps the rising numbers of high-profile killings. We could even go back to the mishandling of the rescue and relief efforts in the wake of Yolanda, or even as far back as the botched rescue efforts in that Luneta hostage-taking incident. For now, I’d rather keep my eyes on Ramon Revilla, Jr.’s photos while being taken into custody, booked and put behind bars.

I am also awaiting the imminent arrest, or surrender if they are to be believed, of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada.

I don’t know for sure whether they’re guilty or not, that’s for the courts to decide. But the evidences so far presented, at least those made available to the public, definitely shows that people’s money was stolen from the government, and there are people in various branches of the government who benefited from the crime. The paper trail led to the doors of the good offices of these three gentlemen, and now they, on the one hand, will have the chance to prove their innocence, or on the other hand, the government can now prove, beyond reasonable doubt, these men’s guilt.

Whichever way the case go, our nation just took great steps towards true democracy – we can now show not only all Filipinos but the rest of the world that what we have is indeed a government of, for and by the people.

Kawawa naman, said one netizen in a comment to a news item showing Revilla being photographed in police custody. Kawawa naman? Maybe, but how about our less fortunate countrymen who die in ill-equipped, under-staffed hospitals that the alleged stolen millions could have easily prevented? How about Filipino children who are forced to forego education and grow up poorer than their parents ever were because the government doesn’t have the money to make education accessible to every single Filipino? How about those families living in the streets, under bridges, dangerously along the banks of polluted rivers because our government cannot afford to provide homes to its citizens?

We can’t expect a 180-degree turn in just a couple of years, we are where we are right now because of hundreds of years of slavery in the hands of our colonial masters and decades of abuse in the hands of our own chosen leaders. The country’s been in a rut for a long time now, and a step, no matter how small, in the right direction is enough reason to be optimistic, to be hopeful.

For now, and for this, I say, Bravo, Aquino!

And now, how about putting monetary value on all those trees illegally cut up in Mt. Sto. Tomas and on the damages that the cutting resulted into – that case may just be worse than plunder.