Let me share a story... This is corroborated by Ombudsman Desierto and my brother Robby. When Dad was Solicitor General, he argued and pursued the case against Westinghouse and the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in Newark, NJ. Apparently my Dad wanted to settle the matter and operate the nuclear power plant. The Philippine Government already spent billions on the plant and it was almost ready for operation. It was overpriced by more billions because of kickbacks given to Marcos Crony Herminio Disini and his people. However it came to that point, at least the people of the Philippines can exact a return on this project by obtaining energy as originally intended from it. But there was opposition. Lawyer Rene Saguisag who was part of the team said it must be mothballed because it is the fruit of a poisonous tree. And unfortunately it was already in the constitution that nuclear power cannot be an option because the country is a nuclear free zone. My Dad was pragmatic in his approach. Operate the plant. The people have spent for it. Though there was massive kickbacks and corruption done to realize it, it is there and it is finished. Try to exact a return. Dont make it a total loss. Well that didnt happen. Rene Saguisag won the argument and the Nuclear Plant was mothballed. 20 years later, we pay for that mistake by paying the highest electricity bills in South East Asia. If the Nuclear plant was run, it would still perhaps be running now and the billions spent for it could have eased the pain of consumers. The state could have profited from the operation of it as well since it is still standing. It would have been depreciated over time but still it could have been put to productive use instead of it being a white elephant. Now what would u have done with this situation? I submit this situation is happening again and again. Marcos was a bad dude but not everything he did was bad. We cannot say he was always bad to the bone. He started OK as they all do but power of course distorted his views and his judgement followed. Can we say that the nuclear power plant was inherently wrong? Should we stigmatize it as the fruit of a poisonous tree? There is a middle ground here. A balance. Oskar Schindler dealt with the Nazis to save the Jews. He connived, wheeled and dealed so he can save lives from an evil empire. He got involved. And now there are generations of Schindler Jews living today. They have hope because of one man who wasnt all that good but he saw that those people mattered. They were not animals to be shot at will. They were human beings. He dealt with evil and extracted life concessions which are his legacy today. And so is the case when we deal with people of power we do not like or approve of. The thing is, to carry progress forward, we simply cannot say screw them, I am out! As a responsible citizen, we need to find ways to work with those people we disagree with or we find detestable to pursue our good agenda. There is no timeout for the good. In times of rain or shine, we need to make incremental steps going forward. It may be inches at a time or when its a favorable climate, its feet at a time. We dont opt out on life when there is a big rain storm. Why should we when bad dudes reign? We need to carefully assess the facts and see how we can make progress despite the situation. We need to do a cost-benefit analysis and see what strategies to execute so we can take the public interest forward. Opting out is not an option. U cant opt out anyway. U live here. All I can say is tao rin lang ang mga yan. When we demagogue people and say they are evil and we cant work with them, we put ourselves in an untenable situation. Once again, we need to count the cost. Do a cost benefit analysis. We need to play out scenarios and not just react and be emotional. Logic dictates that we need to assess the value propositions. Lets weigh the costs and see if it is worthwhile to pursue or not. And Nation building is always a worthwhile proposition despite the parties involved. Opting out in nation building specially when one has influence and say is a tragic omission of duty and has no justification. So there.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 05:42:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015