By Jose Mario De Vega

Be careful with what you wish for. The Marcos regime in the months of July and August are crouching with straw. It is as correctly point out as a lame duck president. All its ammunitions in fully dishing off the Dutertes were blocked or hampered by various reasons and forces dishonorably, by the Supreme Court’s judicial invention and legislation in its “Decision” of practically junking the Impeachment of Sarah Duterte and the treacherous act of the Duterte senate bloc in archiving the said complaint.

When all things seem lost, then came the Flood Control controversies. Was it spontaneous? Timed, programmed and scripted or just came off naturally?

Be that as it may, the regime found in a sense a lease of political life and ironically begun to utilize the Pnoy brand of anticorruption language and leadership, at least in optical terms.

The whole things exploded. The floodgate of unimaginable corruption burst forth and the whole nation is now involved in this imbroglio. The titanic fiasco produced a national condemnation of our various institutions from that of the DPWH, members of Congress and the Senate, some of our government agencies such as PCAB and even the government bank of Landbank.

In this climate of indignation and public anger, the House and the Senate began their usual investigation that further validated the structural and systemic problem of the whole establishment. Imagine: the thieves are investigating their fellow brigands and/or co-thieves.

The public as a whole demand blood. Hence, heads rolled in the Senate, the Speaker of the House has reportedly resigned his post (the problem is, his “elected successor” is a known Trapo and member of a political dynasty), a new DPWH Secretary was appointed, an Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) was created by Malacanan and a Member of the HOR who is on the center of the whole scandal resigned and eventually absconded abroad.

Nonetheless, the public’s fury is not satisfied. Hence, on September the 21^st which is the 53^rd anniversary of the imposition of Martial Law by the late father of the current president, the People have unleashed their collective voice in condemning corruption and demand for genuine change.

Our restive and angry youth charged to the streets will such rage and fury that led the idiot powers that be to call them as terrorists, thugs, hooligans, bandits, etc. after quite sometimes we all witness once again the latest iteration of the Battle of Mendiola. 

Mr. Marcos Jr is now at the crossroads, not only of his Presidency but also of his political life. Will he proceed to the logical conclusion of this thing (“Sumbong sa Pangulo”) that he in a sense also helps to spawn or will he merely selectively choose who to prosecute and destroy?

In an objective sense, I know that he is also in a very tight spot. The House Speaker, who is one of the brains and engineers of this whole fiasco, is his cousin and many of those Congressmen named and involved were his political allies.

Further, he signed that 2025 National Budget which is the most corrupt and bastardized budget in the entire history of this country.

Will he have the courage to do the right thing for the country – that is to bring to the bar of justice all those who are responsible regardless of who the hell they are, or he merely wishes to show that he is not a lame duck president?

Both circumstances and history have given him the golden opportunity to do the right thing. If he will use all the powers of the Presidency to help in destroying corruption and in a sense curb the influences of the evil political dynasties (which is the social class where he belongs) and their hideous cohorts, then perhaps, it can somehow lessen the crimes and sins that they (he and his family) have committed to the Filipino people.

He said way back in 2016 that: Hindi ako ang aking kahapon. If he truly meant what he said, then he must embrace the present challenge and help bring about a substantial change in our body politic.

I concede that this is a long shot, but still, I am giving this man the benefit of the doubt. It is never too late to change for the better and there is always the right time to do the right thing for the right reason – for the greater interest of the nation, especially on behalf of those at the bottom of our fractious society.

That time has come.

If he will do the right thing, then perhaps his acts of radical reforms in our political structure will help eventually to our national reconciliation as a nation, but if he will waste this chance then – same with his father and their infamous cronies – they will forever be condemned both by the Filipino people and by history.

Further, inaction will lead to another of our infinite EDSAs. The nation is at a boiling point. It is utterly wrong for anyone among the ruling elite for them to test the patience of the Filipino people. The call for the protests and the apparent solidarity to the demonstration of condemnation albeit to keep it peaceful is not only naïve but also incontestably idiotic. It is the People themselves who will decide whether they will follow another version of our Edsa or Mendiola, or worst for the ruling classes, a Bangladeshi, an Indonesian or even a Nepali type or template.

The die is cast. He must choose his path: eternally be on the side of the Sith Lords or defect to the side of the Jedi Knights. Be finally on the side of the Light or forever be on the side of Darkness.

It is written:

“It will be a hard life. One without reward. Without remorse. Without regret. A path will be placed before you. The choice is yours alone. Do what you think you cannot do… But in the end, you will find out who you are”

A crucial, irreversible decision must be made, and events are now set to unfold in a certain way, with no turning back.

Will he cross the Rubicon or the People themselves again need to cross the bridge of Malacanang?

Jose Mario De Vega is an educator for higher learning who pushes for social change not only in Philippine society but more over for government accountability. He is also a published author of multiple books, and currently a contributing writer for South East Asia Weekly news.