Beyond Erap

Atty. Luke Espiritu

If something good has come out of Erap’s pardon, that is the fact that the oust Gloria movement has at last been purged of a fake symbol who represents neither the masses nor the idea of good government.

Prior to the pardon, several known oppositionists had engaged in the futile exercise of make-believe trying to prop up Erap as the rallying figure against Gloria’s evil regime. They had hoped that Erap’s following among the masses, or what remains of it, could strengthen the fledging anti-Gloria forces. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” so they might have thought.

This country is hungry for any modern day martyr that many were prepared to manufacture one whose only claim to suffering is to be confined to a private mansion where he could gorge on a sumptuous feast of lechon while playing hero to the outside world.

But, alas, Erap’s true color has unraveled. Trembling from the prospect of spending a single night in Muntinlupa, Erap has sought executive clemency and is now singing a different tune --- he will not join mounting calls for Gloria’s resignation.

Such a turnaround only confirms what has been clear from the very beginning. Erap can never be a driving force against corruption for he himself is corrupt. He cannot usher in a new type of governance for he is an old trapo. He cannot rail against criminals in public office for he has been a proven plunderer.

In other words, Erap is no different from Gloria. And with Erap and Gloria together, like old school chums suddenly finding love, this awful truth has become incontestable.

In a sense, this will prove beneficial to advocates of real change. For, they will no longer be burdened by a gaping contradiction, the kind witnessed in Teofisto Guingona who batted for Erap’s freedom several years after his stirring “I Accuse” speech that eased the ex-President’s downfall.

For a time, Gloria’s strategy of identifying with Erap’s camp all the progressive elements seeking her ouster was effective in keeping those individuals who are repugnant with trapo politics away from the mass actions.

But with Erap under her leash, Gloria has deprived herself of a convenient boogeyman. This time, she cannot attribute the widespread hatred of her regime to the alleged machinations of a political rival. She can no longer make a sweeping charge that everyone who opposes her is an Erap restorationist. She can no longer dismiss the brewing discontent as political bickering.

Ironically, Gloria does not realize the double-edged sword she is dangling over the people’s heads. The country must move on, she says. And indeed, the country is moving on, without Erap, in opposing her. The struggle will finally go beyond the irrational personality politics of the Erap fanatics.

The pardon will pave the way for national unity, Gloria further proclaims. And indeed, the nation --- strengthened after the exorcised demon of a convicted plunderer has gone to her side --- is as united as ever in seeking her ouster.

Among the anti-Gloria forces, the chaff has been separated from the grain. Erap may have compromised, but not the nation.