Peace, politics and Sto. Niño
Will Cebu’s coming feast of the Holy Child Jesus have any bearing on local politics?
The runup to the Fiesta Señor that officially starts this Thursday, Jan. 10 will be a time for Cebuanos to reflect on the significance of the Christ Child and his virtues on their everyday lives.
The Catholic Church is expected to remind the faithful of the importance of preserving a culture of life from the moment of conception even as some have begun to challenge the Reproductive Health law at the Supreme Court.
Turning to the political arena, we hope our leaders and their close collaborators and supporters find in the childhood of the Sto. Niño de Cebu the motivation to heed their better angels as they perform their duties.
The Masses that suspended Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale offered amid the ongoing Capitol standoff should not end up mere symbols to array their positions with divine window-dressing.
In the spirit of the Sto. Niño celebration, Magpale needs to persevere in being patient in the face of the defiant suspended governor, the histrionics of her brother Byron and the questions raised over her closure of the province-owned Sugbo TV and Sugbo News.
Article continues after this advertisementShe could reach out to former staff of the cable TV program and newsletters who air online the anxieties about their future and their hurt over the way they were shooed out of their workplace.
Article continues after this advertisementMagpale could also call for sobriety between her supporters and those of Garcia. Some of the commentaries on air and exchanges online are bitter political attacks and cyberspace catfights.
Garcia for years has been dancing in honor of the Sto. Niño, an icon of faith as well as culture.
Perhaps this is an opportunity for her to show her devotion as well to the “prince of peace” by setting a clear example of dignified, sober speech and conduct instead of using words that invite violence as in daring a physical eviction from her Capitol office “over my dead body.”
A different tune is playing now and Garcia is having a difficult time dancing to it.
She no longer commands Cebu province.
But she still has a voice that can discourage her brother Byron from indulging in his belicose ways or potentially choreographing inmates of the Cebu provincial jail to dance to the soundtrack of violence and chaos.
She still has a voice that can seek to protect the right of a columnist like Bobby Nalzaro to express his views against her in a paper owned by her kin.
She can also get down from her Capitol fortress, and actually dance in honor of the Child King during the Sinulog parade, as she has done since her first term, with genuine gratitude for all her accomplishments in nine years of governance.
