If Only... (part I)

"Good morning to all passengers! Please fasten your seatbelt 'coz few minutes from now we are about to land at Davao International Airport . Hope you enjoy your trip and have a nice day!"

Biglang nanumballik sa kasalukuyan mula sa malalim na pagmumuni- muni si Agnes nang magsimulang magsalita ang isa sa mga playt attendants ng Philippine Airlines. Matapos mapakinggan ang maamong boses ng
babae, masasalamin sa kinauupuan niya ang tensiyong di niya halos maipaliwanag. Bumilis ang tibok ng kanyang puso. Dala marahil ng galak sapagkat matapos ang maraming taon ay muli siyang tutuntong sa lupang pinaglak’han sakbibi ang mga pagbabago. Nasasabik din siyang makita ang mga kaibigan niya.
“ Lima . Limang taon na pala ang lumipas. Parang kahapon lang nangyari ang lahat…” bulong ni Agnes sa sarili habang malayang tinatanaw mula sa bintanang eroplanong sinasakyan ang malawak na himpapawid.
Mula doo’y kita niya ang malawak na lupain ng Mindanao na napapaligiran ng mga bundok at dagat. Kaaya- ayang tignan. Sawa na siya sa mga naglalakihang gusali sa Manila . Pero natitiyak niyang hindi kung bakit siya uuwi. Siyempre hindi. Sa likod ng kanyang isipan muling nanumbalik and isang tagpong pilit niyang ibinaon sa limot.Parang nakakabinging alingawngaw mula sa kung saan and mga katagang minsa’y pumunit sa kanyang pagkatao.
“And you expect me to believe that?” he snapped.
Si Agnes ang unang nagbaba ng tingin dahil puno ng pag-uusig ang mga mata nito.
“But I only did that to protect you, Francis!” garalgal ang tinig na sabi niya.
What more could she say to defend herself?
“Mahal kita pero im too tired and mad to think about you right now. Kung hihingi ka man ng tawad ngayon, wala ning magbabago. You’ve done too much, Agnes. Tama na,” isang matalim na tingin ang ibinigay nito sa kanya bago humakbang palayo.
“Francis…” mahinang sambit niya sa pangalan ng lalaki.
But he was too angry to listen.
Paano niya maipapaliwanag ang kasalanan!
“Bakit mo nagawang maniwala sa iba, Francis” pigil ang mga luhang sambit niya.
Habang papalayo ang lalaki, isang masaganang luha ang dumaloy sa kanyang mga pisngi.
Wala na ang lalaking labis kong minahal at halos sambahin ko.
She stiffened for seconds. Malamig ang simoy ng hangin noon na parang nagbabadyang umulan.
Maya-maya pa’y naghahanda na ang mga pasahero sa paglanding.
Nang mailapag ng eroplano ang sarili sa malapad na paliparan.
“This way ma’am,” nakangiting salubong ng isang binatilyong gard habang tinuturo nito ang arrival area upang kunin ang iba pa niyang dala.
Isang surprise ang pag-uwi niya kaya pumara siya ng isa sa mga taxi na nakahilera sa labas ng aireport. Habang binabagtas ang kahabaan ng Bajada, napansin ni Agnes ang malaking pagbabago sa lungsod. Namiss niya tuloy ang dati niyang buhay bago pa mag desisyong lumuwas ng Manila .
“Mama!” tila nagulat pa ang mama ni Agnes nang makita niya. Trienta lang ang biyahe mula pauwi sa bahay nila.
“Tetet? Tetet ikaw nga!” gulat ngunit nakangiting tanong ni Aling Diding gamit ang palayaw niya.
Sabik na niyakap niya ang ina. May kanya - kanya ang nang trabaho at pamilya ang maga kapatid ni Agnes kaya ang mga magulang lang nila ang nakatira sa kanilang bahay. Maging ang ama niya ay nagulat din sa di inasahan niyang pag-uwi.
Dahil sa labis na namiss ang isa’t-isa, ginugol nila nag buong maghaponsa pagkukwentuhan. Pinag-usapan nila ang tagumpay at karanasan ni Agnes sa Manila bilang isang photographer ng isang sikat na fashion magazine. Paminsan-minsan ay pumupunta siya sa Singapore dahil doon nakabse ang main office ng naturang magazine.
“Where on earth did you hide yourself, Agnes?” tila may bahid na pagtatampo sa boses ni Lovely nang makipagkita siya sa kaibigan ilang araw mula ng nang makauwi siya.
“Si Francis ba ang dahilan?” Hindi siya nakapagsalita sa sinabi ng kaharap.
Nasa MTS Park sila noon habang tanaw ang mga taong namamasyal din sa naturang parke.
“Oie, alam mo na ba…”
“He hates me so much kaya di ko na inaasahan pang magkikita kami ulit,” putol niya sa iba pang sasabihin ng kaibigan. Alam niyang may ibabalita ito tungkol sa dating kasintahan.

“Agnes, sarado sa paliwanag ang buong pusong nasaktan. Nakakagawa tayo o nakakapagsalita nang di na pinag-iisipan. Kung galit siya sa’yo, noon iyon pero malay mo iba na ngayon. Panahon lang naman ang laging gamot sa sakit eh."
"At isa pa ---” may sasabihin pa sana ang kaibigan nang biglang tumunog ang cellphone ni Agnes.

Itutuloy…^_^

The Manila Peninsula Stand Off

The stand off at the Manila Peninsula Hotel on the eve of Bonifacio Day last year marked another failed Coup de Etat under President Arroyo’s administration. This misadventure led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim had provided a platform for another hostility between them and the law-enforcement agencies. The commotion led the sending n of armor and spraying the hotel with high-velocity bullets not to mention the use of tear gas. Security forces stormed the hotel to flush out Trillanes and his group (who were unarmed). From the government’s point of view, it was such a brilliant maneuver. However, there is another dimension to the situation because about 30 journalists and media technicians who covered the event that day were detained on the alleged reason that they may have committed that gray offense called “obstruction of justice.”

A dialogue between the press and the government followed after the peninsula stand off stressing the argument – the public has the right to know. For it is only through this sector that the public can depend on for information on what is really happening in the country. Burt what the entire officialdom fails to realize is the banal presence of media people, going about their business of reporting what was obviously a significant event, who were there just doing their job. Secretary of the Interior Ronaldo Pun insisted that journalists would be arrested if they refused to be shooed away by police if such “scenario” would happen again. Disgraceful as it may sound, we have arrived at a situation in which democracy no longer works for freedom can’t find its true assurance anymore. Surely, this is a case of press freedom being plainly violated and undermined.

The Constitution is clear about press freedom. But what needs to be explained is the government’s threatening to the press who, if will refuse to obey orders to vacate a place of legitimate police and military operations, will be arrested. The thing is, the government has no authority to lecture the press about a field in which it has no expertise if its own diction is deplorable – a fearless and honest exercise of duty as well as the ventilation of truth. It would do well for the government to refrain from doing such considering that it will lose in a sensible debate with the press. But what seems to be ironic here is the unusual concern of the government towards its so called “classic adversary” through a memorandum issued by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales emphasizing that the press is not being stopped from covering events and the journalist’s dangers of covering a situation like the Peninsula stand off. The Fourth Estate is certain about press coverage and their call of duty. But what appears to be missing here are the law-enforcement agencies’ exercise of responsibility and reason in the discharge of their function. Are we to give them the credit for giving the press the appearance but not the substance of justice?

Moreover, at the height of the stand off, Trillanes and his group called on the people to join them in their bid to oust Mrs. Arroyo but decided to surrender realizing that his attempt to topple the President had failed. However, despite of the catastrophe, it only showed what it has to be real assurance of freedom- where the people have a right to be heard, to disagree, and to ventilate what they believe to be legitimate grievances.

On the side of the press and journalists, the government has failed to intimidate them.- to hell with this era of extrajudicial killings. Journalists and democrats breathe a common air. The Constitution is clear about press freedom so there has to be a line between right and license as well as the exercise of freedom and the abuse of liberties. They know their right to exercise their responsibility and use the power of pen to deliver the truth to the public. Yet no matter how the government threatens the press: journalists who will refuse to obey their orders during such situation. This repression should never happen again. The press will stand up to the challenge of aggression.

Who’s scared, anyway?