Shut up, sirs!

‘Esperon and Razon? It’s their choice. We would like to believe their middle name is not Ver.’

So why don’t you keep your traps shut, sirs? Or stop mounting your shows of force, sirs? Stay in the barracks, sirs, and we the citizenry will resolve the political crisis our way.

During the previous 20 celebrations of the 1986 People Power Revolt, the role of the chief of the AFP and the PNP was to attend the morning ceremonies at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani at EDSA and White Plains. After the ceremonies they proceeded without fanfare to Camp Aguinaldo, in the case of the AFP chief, and to Camp Crame, in the case of the PNP chief, for breakfast and exchange of reminiscences with the military and police personalities of the 1986 civilian-backed military uprising.

This time around the AFP general staff and the PNP directorial staff, together with other high-ranking officers. marched arm-in-arm to the Camp Aguinaldo golf course for a press conference where they pledged their undying loyalty to Gloria Arroyo.

It’s not that we expect the military and police leadership to dump Gloria this early. During Edsa 1 and 2, the military hierarchy straddled the fence until it saw the millions pouring into the streets to demand that Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada leave (the police "defected" early in 1986 because their chief, Ramos, joined Juan Ponce Enrile on the first day). Edsa 1 and 2 were called People Revolt 1 and 2 not for nothing. Were the men in uniform primarily responsible for these historic events, these would have by now entered the history books as the coup d’etats of 1986 and 2001.

Esperon and Razon are just playing their assigned roles. They pledged loyalty to the commander-in-chief. They reiterated their institutions’ commitment to maintain peace, order and security. They vowed to uphold the law and democratic processes.

Perhaps they really believed their televised appearances could hold back a people’s uprising. If so, then they are only deluding, first, themselves, and, second, Gloria. Their men would be the first to abandon them in the face of another show of People Power.

As we earlier said, the citizenry will resolve this impasse between a president who is obsessed with staying in power and the people who did not elect her in 2004, who can no longer tolerate her thieving and lying and who are determined to give her the boot.

The military and the police, if and when the time to act comes, will know their duty. And that is not to serve as the praetorian guards of Gloria, Mike, Mikey, Iggy and the rest of the gang.

Esperon and Razon? It’s their choice. We would like to believe their middle name is not Ver.