Ducky Paredes

Malaya (12.27.05)
“Peace, unity and brotherly love to all; change to achieve the common good.”

MJ Returns

by Ducky Paredes

The man is Santa Claus to a lot of his constituents and even fellow-politicians. When former Congressman Mark Jimenez came home just before Christmas Day, he set a tone that affected the temper of all our individual Christmases.

It was expected that the former congressman who spent the last year in an American prison would be bitter and would hit at perceived opponents, thus, turning up the political heat. Those who expected an angry Mark must have been disappointed. Despite a flight from the United States which was delayed for 13 hours and took almost as long to get to Manila, it was a happy Mark Jimenez who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) a week ago, what did Mark have to say?
“Peace, unity and brotherly love to all; change to achieve the common good.”
Expecting vinegar, we got, instead, sweetness and light
And, what about all those pending charges that he had filed against some government people? Mark begged off, explaining that he had Christmas amnesia. He could not remember anything and would not, he explained, remember them until many days past Christmas.
Coming home to his family and land of birth, the man was simply brimming with enthusiasm and boundless joy. Even an intensity 9 tremor would have failed to dampen Jimenez’s spirits at the time. No doubt, if not for the connecting tube between the airplane and the NAIA terminal, Jimenez would have kissed the ground the moment he stepped onto Philippine soil.
He was that happy: And to say that Jimenez was on Cloud 9 would be an understatement.
At a time when the country is caught in the heat of the incessant political blood sport, Jimenez’s thoughts were compelling in their stark simplicity.
Hearing Jimenez speak, it was clear that his belief in the innate ability of Filipinos to rise from overwhelming adversity has remained unshaken. Filipinos, Jimenez said, have what it takes to soar to great heights if only we would forgo our self-destructive appetite to bring one another down.

But not one to preach, Mark had no time for recriminations. He said that there’s no point in dwelling on the past. What’s done is done. It’s time to move forward.
Politics, the former Manila congressman stressed, should cease to be a national pastime because of its divisiveness. The way we play at politics, said Mark, is “too heated-up, too personal and without bounds.”
What turned Mark Jimenez around? He used to be a player, too, in Philippine politics, His story is that he had heart-warming experiences while serving time in the US – that of fellow inmates, of differing cultural backgrounds, being friends and helpful of one another.
“We prayed, sang and danced together and we never argued at all,” he said. “Filipinos have a beautiful mind and with a smile made and carved in heaven. So, I see no reason why we can’t stop fighting one another and start uniting.”

It is difficult to imagine that doing time might have been the best thing that could happen to Mark Crespo aka Mark Jimenez.
Mark observes that the Philippines, unlike other countries which have to rely solely on money or capital to prosper, has plenty of that most important of all resources – people whose honesty, integrity, industry, fear of God and love for all are known worldwide, he said.
The millions of OFWs who toil hard abroad to prop the Philippine economy with their foreign exchange remittances and those who remain in the Philippines but who work as hard. Jimenez said that including money sent home by OFWs through non-banking or informal channels, the total yearly foreign currency remittances by Filipinos working overseas are estimated at $20 billion, more than enough to fund the national budget.
But, that is not the solution, Instead, MJ points out: “If only the environment in which OFWs work can be duplicated in the Philippines, imagine how easy it would be for the Philippines to take off economically, what with its surplus of talented, highly skilled and professional workers.”
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“The most cruel, unchristian and un-Filipino act that it has been my misfortune to know about was the ban on President - the true, duly elected, and genuinely loved by the people - Joseph Estrada, from delivering the eulogy for his late brother, or waving at his friends and nakikiramay crowd at the wake, or even attending the funeral of his brother. I am surprised that they did not prohibit his shedding tears at his beloved sibling’s departure forever.
“Would the Sandiganbayan justices have been justified in canceling Erap’s Christmas and New Year’s Eve furlough if he had attended his brother’s funeral, or waved at his friends, or eulogized his late brother? His military and police escorts who issued the prohibition must have thought so low of the justices as to suggest they would deprive Erap of the flitting moments with his mother and other family members on such occasions as Christmas and New Year had he committed those ‘infractions’.

Like Gen. Abat, I was in the guerrilla movement when still a teenager, with the late Gen Salipada K. Pendatun as our regimental commander, and the late Col. McGee as our Division Commander. I am now 82 years old - 82 - not senile, still physically strong. To Malacanang, I issue a challenge: Shut up and stop insulting us. Gen. Abat did a lot more good for the country than many of you.” –Ramon Carag. (romneng@sbcglobal.net)
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Well said, Ramon.
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In two days – December 29 – the Federation of Philippine Amateur Senior Golfers, Inc. will have its Year-end Tournament and Christmas Party at Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club. All FPASGI are welcome to play or even just to party. Tee-off at 8:00 a.m. Party at 4:00 p.m.
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Readers who missed a column can go to http://ducky.paredes-ohana.org. Your reactions are welcome at duckyparedes@gmail.com.
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hvp (12.26.05)

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