Is she a justice crusader or an immoral woman?

The atmosphere of the Philippine government at the moment is like a circus or tabloid newspaper. I do not know if the world is watching or not, because I do not know if the average citizens around the world care what is going on in the Philippines.

I believe the way the government deals with their drug problems is an internal matter and others should stay out of it. If the Philippine people are happy with the way their President is dealing with the problem then so be it. When they have had enough they will solve the problem for themselves. When the Philippine people had enough of Spain they booted them out, the same is true of the United States and President Marcos. I do not want outsiders (especially the United Nations) telling Americans how to run their country or what is best for our country.  

I admit I am confused by what the Philippine President says from day to day. One day he wants the U.S. military out of the Philippines and the next day he says he will allow them to stay. I am an expat living in the Philippines and frankly I do not care if the U.S. military is here or not. I would like to know if I am going to be able to stay or not. I am nearing eighty and in bad health. I have been advised by my doctors that I most likely could not survive a trip to the United States and I will be quite happy to die and be buried in the Philippines.

Today, I read posts in social media from some Philippine women about the Senator DE Lima's sex films. They feel that showing the films would shame her and that she should not be shamed because she is a woman. One said, “When you shame Senator DE Lima you are shaming all women.”  One said, “When you shame Senator DE Lima you are shaming all mothers, sisters, aunts and nieces in the Philippines.” How could that possibly be so? My mother, sisters, aunts or nieces have never made a sex tape. How could they be shamed by a sex video that Senator DE Lima allowed to be made. They are not responsible for what Senator DE Lima did and it in no way reflects upon them?

Is the sex video a fake? I do not know, but they appear to be real and if you take her private visits to the prisoners inside the maximum security prison and her attendance at parties sponsored by prisoners and her pictures hanging on the wall of prisons rooms it does not look good for Senator DE Lima. It certainly appears that she made bad decisions.

At the time Senator DE Lima was Secretary of Justice (Attorney General) why would someone in that position allow prisoners to sponsor private parties and invite outside guest to raise money? Why would someone in that position allow prisoners to have their own private quarters with offices and conference rooms and computers? Why would someone in that position visit those private quarters and attend those parties? I wish I could say that I never doubted Senator DE Lima’s sincerity, but I always have, even when she headed up the Human Rights Organization in the Philippines. Her motivation has always been in question by me.

How does it help the people of the Philippines to cover-up her transgression. Does anyone deserve a pass simply because they are a woman, elected official or celebrity? I personally do not think so. In fact I think people in those position, women and men, should be held to a higher standard.

Corruption within the government has been allowed by the people of the Philippines for so long I do not even know how you would begin to clean it up. Perhaps President Duterte’s way is the only way. I am certainly not comfortable with extra judicial killings or vigilante killings, but if the whole system is corrupt how do you clean it up? I still believe President Duterte is doing what he thinks is best for the country. I also can feel his frustration for his countrymen, especially the poor.

I was ask today if Senator DE Lima has ever admitted to doing any wrong and I honestly do not know if she had or not. I have not heard her do so. I could easily forgive anyone that admitted they were wrong and ask forgiveness. It is difficult for me to ignore wrong or the perception of wrong when the person will not admit to their wrong doings or that they may have committed acts that would lead others to perceive she or he had done wrong. Senator DE Lima has not presented any argument thus far that would persuade me that she is not guilty.

God blessed the Philippines with lots of potential. God blessed the Philippines with beautiful landscapes. There is absolutely no reason a country with educated young people to be a Third World Country. Do you blame the people or the corrupt politicians? 

I have learned in my near eight decades on this earth that as long as you allow any human being to take advantage of you they will, so I must ask why have the Philippine people allowed EDSA to be in vain. There will be a price to pay, sacrifices to make for the people to gain control of their government and they must decide is it worth it or not. One thing I am sure of you cannot keep electing the same corrupt politicians and expect things in your life to get better. THINGS only get better in the politicians lives when you keep electing them over and over again. I have never believe politics was meant to be a lifetime career. 

I want to state the same thing is happening in the United States. We are not electing politicians that give a darn about the people of the United States. They are not in politics to devote their lives to service of the country or the people they are in politics to advance their own personal interest. Of all the people in the United States we cannot find two people better qualified than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to run for President. I suppose people that are honest, truthful and moral no longer are interested in associating day in and day out with thugs and criminals.  It is up to the young people in the Philippines and the United States to bring about change in politics for us old people have screwed it up for you.

In closing I cannot wrap my mind around where or when did Senator DE Lime go bad. Was it the result of one bad decision or an accumulation of many bad decisions or was it she forgot what she set out to do and allowed vengeance for one man, the Mayor of Davao City, to take control of her? She had everything going for her and her legacy could have been similar to Senator Santiago, but instead the final chapter of her life story will read like a cheap novel. 

There is a lesson for us all in this story and that is our decisions do matter. Every decision will play a role in our life story be they good or bad. Not only do our decisions/actions matter the perceptions others have of our decisions/actions matter. If she would have only stopped for a moment and given thought to what she was doing perhaps she would not have taken the wrong path and the same is true for us. Once you start living a lie you will live that lie until you die or be destroyed when the truth comes out.