A laughing Aquino at the Mitsubishi plant inauguration at Sta. Rosa, Laguna while bodies of 42 the fallen SAF arrive in Villamor Air Base.
It took him four days to say something about the worst tragedy in the history of the country’s police force and when the bodies of the fallen police officers arrived at Villamor Air Base yesterday, President Aquino was at Mitsubishi plant Sta Rosa, Laguna inspecting and enjoying the classic cars on display.
What kind of a leader do we have?
Social media was raging over Aquino’s callousness.
Movie director Joey Reyes posted on Twitter: “My God! And you chose to be at an inauguration of an auto plant than to meet the bodies of our boys who died fulfilling their duties?!”
Others were at a loss for words.
Joe Bacero could only say “Lilintian!” Visayans know the rage in this expression. No English translation can capture it.
Ysabel Canlas didn’t mince words: “With all due respect Mr. President, isa po kayong gago at kalahati.
The gentle Yolanda L.Punsalan said, “I want to be an ostrich now.”
Worse, Malacañang dismissed the criticism on Aquino’s absence in the arrival of the slain police officers as not really “a majority view” based on their media monitoring.
Bad news for Coloma, according to ABS-CBN monitoring, the hastag #Nasaanangpangulo was trending number one worldwide in Twitter last night.
Besides, he said, the President has already expressed his grief over the tragedy in his televised speech
Wednesday night. “Naipahayag na po ng pangulo kagabi ang kanyang buong-pusong pakikidalamhati at ang kalungkutan ng buong bansa,” Coloma said.
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the President didn’t snub the arrival honors for the slain policemen because he was not really scheduled to be in that event. She said Aquino will attend the necrological service today.
What’s a schedule? That can be revised at the last minute for more important matters. That is if the President considers the death of the 44 members of SAF important.
Aquino’s absence at the arrival honors yesterday renders hollow his expression of grief in his speech: “As President and as father of this country, I am greatly saddened that our policemen had to lay down their lives for this mission. Without question, these people are heroes; they who willingly put themselves in danger to address threats to our security; they who were wounded; they who gave their lives in the name of peace.”
He has declared today, Jan. 30, as “National Day of Mourning to symbolize the sorrow and empathy of our entire country.”
The Filipino people are in mourning and it’s not just because of the Masasapano debacle. We are mourning the incompetence and callousness of the national leadership.
As one Facebook post articulated, “Sending men out to die for glory and money is repulsive. Sending out men who are trained to follow your orders to carry out a mission where they believe you have their backs and not protecting them is the highest betrayal of trust. Violating the laws you swore to uphold, leading without empathy and having complete disregard for the lives of policemen under your command constitute a crime against the Filipino people. I wonder, did you lose even one night of sleep?”