Near miss

By Rolo B. Cena
Hushed Poppies
Dumaguete Star Informer
22 January 2012

Recently, the tilting of luxury liner Costa Concordia off the island of Giglio in Italy shocked not only the maritime industry but the entire world as well. As the rescue and retrieval operations are currently conducted, the incident draws more dramatic attention when it revealed that the captain, Francesco Schettino, abandoned the ship devoid of plan to save four-thousand-two hundred lives on board.

Before the Senate-conducted impeachment trial began on Monday, Chief Justice Renato Corona instantaneously dared his detractors by saying: “If you want to remove me, kill me.” As the impeachment hearing continues, the most awaited real life drama that rose from the judiciary-executive conflict attracted more dramatic attention when it revealed that the captain of the court, the Chief Justice, owned about two hundred million pesos worth of properties, a figure his salary cannot afford.

These two men, both donning majestic robes and gigantic responsibilities toward mankind, have deliberately undertaken two major yet opposing gestures only an officer and a gentleman can believe and condemn: retreat and attack. The former fortifies cowardice and neglect; the latter personifies courage and responsibility.

On several occasions, Schettino argued that he was the last one to leave the portal of the ill-fated seventeen-deck cruiser. The audio transcripts of conversation between him and port authorities revealed that he was insistently informing them of leaving the sea craft despite warnings. The passengers and crew members cry for the captain’s conviction for manslaughter due to his ignoble act of abandonment.

Such was a blatant display of formidable cowardice in the midst of clear and present danger where an officer is expected to protect his men. An officer retreating from the perimeter or jurisdiction of responsibility in the midst of crisis espouses defeat, an act of willful neglect, and an act only a corporate coward can emulate.

On several occasions, Corona bravely implied to be last one to leave the portico of a credibility-torn Supreme Court. The eight allegations charged against his persona as embodied in the articles of impeachment purport to depict glares of the Magistrate’s credibility and moral fitness. The entire nation cries for the conviction of Chief Justice for allegedly betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, plunder and impliedly, manslaughter.

Such was an apparent and clear manifestation of courage under fire where an officer is expected to lead his men. An officer protracting the attack against the enemies in the middle of the battle espouses genuine leadership, an act of utter regard to responsibility, an act even the beggars down the street can emulate.

Sadly though, such were not the cases of Schettino and Corona. The former cowardly washed his hands with the stale water of Judas, escaped through “Jacob’s ladder” and disappeared while the horizon met the sky in the cold Mediterranean sea; the latter mollusk-ly cleft and held on to his position, made controls through “Herod’s court” and emerged while the cloak of the Judiciary has chaotically entangled with that of the executive and the legislative.

If I may opine, Schettino should have done the Corona’s “mollusks way” while Corona, Schettino’s “Judas way” and elude what seemed to be the most perilous prosecution of all times.

Arguably though, Schettino and Corona are graphical revelations of former Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arrroyo’s foiled attempt to leave the country, and her insatiable grip to power by way of her congressional representation. Merging these two can produce the classic political masterpiece, which literally and figuratively known to many as “greed” in its truest form and meaning.

And what do Schettino and Corona do commonly possess? It is the near miss of truth and lies that borders the posh domain of Gloria and her cohorts!