Some Explosive Points from Glorietta 2

Some Explosive Points From Glorietta 2

(Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, Oct. 26, 2007)

The explosion last week at Glorietta 2 is an indication of the current state of affairs of the Philippines. A few “explosive” points about the way things are in our country have come to the forefront because of it.

1. We don’t trust the President – a number of columnists, politicians and even much of the public blamed our very own President for the explosion. They say that Malacanang palace caused the incident to keep the public’s interest away from the many political controversies hounding the government (i.e. pay-outs to local government executives, broadband deals with China, corruption, etc.).

I doubt if that is the case though. This President, though savvy and oftentimes politically ruthless, probably draws the line at outright murder. It takes an evil person to knowingly plan the killing of innocents, and despite the accusations of many, I do not believe this President is capable of that. Besides, no proof of this has come to light. Senator Trillanes accused the President of causing the explosion shortly after the explosion. If there’s one thing you learn in law school is that you back up your statements with authorities and evidence. Where’s the proof?

But it really is sad when accusations like that are thrown around about one’s own President. We can perhaps trace this to the many controversies hounding her administration. In fact, her entire administration has been surrounded with controversy, from the way she initially ascended into power (EDSA II or People Power), to her re-election (accusations of vote-rigging), the people making up her official family (former COMELEC Chair Abalos, for example) and her family by blood (entire books can be written about the First Gentleman).

It seems we really don’t trust the government anymore, or at least, the administration that makes up our government now.

2. We are very uncertain about many things – As of this writing, almost a week after the event, we still aren’t sure what exactly was the cause of the explosion. At first, it was supposed to be an LPG explosion, then evidence of C4 was supposedly found. Now the PNP is saying it may have been an accident. Regardless of what it was, people are dead and a lot were injured. But still, we remain uncertain about what’s happened in  Glorietta, in the same way we remain uncertain about what’s happening in our country.

3. Our economy remains strong -  On a positive note, the Glorietta 2 explosion proves that our economy has generally become more resilient than it was in the past. Government officials would say that the economy is strong, rather than just resilient.

After a one day dip in the stock market after the explosion, which could arguably be blamed on  U.S. market woes, the Philippine stock market has stayed relatively upbeat. Even the peso remains strong against the dollar, and the economy as a whole seems in safe condition.

4. Filipinos Do not Live in Fear. — Our people continue to walk the streets of the Philippines. We do so with a little trepidation. But we walk on.  And we still live our lives as usual. Malls are open and are filled with people. Businesses thrive, and the populace is still upbeat, if a little edgy and nervous, but that doesn’t get in the way of everyone  going about their lives as if nothing has happened.

And in a sense, this has been what Filipinos have been doing for as long as I can remember. During the height of the 2nd EDSA revolution for example, many malls and shops stayed open, even with the very unreal possibility of violence happening.

At the end of the day, one can say that the explosion showed the best and worst of the Philippines as it stands today. With one fatal moment, we saw clearly the way things are. We can only hope that it doesn’t take another moment like that to see things so clearly.