Factionalism besets the country as the debate on whether or not Jun Lozada is a hero rages on. This is bewildering. How can a virtual unknown who was never involved in the people’s struggle prior to the NBN-ZTE controversy, becomes a topic for national debate, splitting allies and turning friends into bitter enemies?
This debate can be considered a betrayal of our intellectual aspiration, but just the same, let us join the fray, rather than allow, by our utter silence, the opening up of our society to the danger of having scoundrels, and even skunks, revered as heroes.
Let us step back for awhile, remove our emotional blinders and reexamine things objectively, before we all fall prey to a gambit. Let us reexamine Jun Losada’s social rank by, first, telling stories that demonstrate how heroes are actually made.
Mahatma Gandhi was beaten, imprisoned many times, fasted almost to his death and finally offered his life for the noble cause of his troubled nation. For enduring tremendous pains and for offering his life in the altar of freedom, he was catapulted into the pedestal reserved for heroes.
Nelson Mandela dangerously fought apartheid in South Africa and for this; he was put incommunicado by the white regime for 27 years. For giving up his freedom for the liberation of his people, he was extolled to greatness.
Malcolm Little, a Negro, was imprisoned for having sex with a white woman, an act then considered illegal. Eventually freed from prison, he devoted his life in defense of the human rights of his fellow black Americans and for this; he was again imprisoned, tortured and, later, murdered. For his great sense of self-sacrifice for the welfare of the downtrodden, he was raised to high heavens.
Macliing Dulag defended the land of his ancestors for the glory of his race against the onslaughts of external forces. Unschooled, yet, he was extolled to international prominence, courtesy of his classic characterization of the nature of land ownership (Only he who owns the sunbeam, the moonlight and the glitters of the stars and the air we breathe can claim to own the land. He who claims to own the land will soon be owned by the land. Only the race can own the land because the race will live forever), which could have swept red-blooded socialists off their feet. As Macliing was uncompromising, so were his enemies who murdered him. He died but he lives forever in the hearts of his people. As he was immortal, his wisdom was also immortal, inspiring people across generations.
We can proceed further on and on, ad nauseam, for we really have a great abundance of heroes. We cited these examples only to point out some of the indispensable qualities of heroes, which we sum up, thus: service for others as the singular propelling motive for action; willing acceptance of pains and sufferings in pursuit of the common good; and preservation of life and freedom does not serve as an obstacle to a collective pursuit.
Now, let us take a look at Jun Lozada. We have not seen him joining that ranks of those who struggled for system change within decades of social turbulence, which is supposedly a time for the nurturance of heroes. Instead, as President of Phil Forest, he betrayed the flimsiest element of heroism by reportedly appropriating power and material privileges for himself and his family. Moreover, Lozada actively participated in the shady NBN-ZTE deal, in sharp deviation from heroic virtues.
When the deal was still being cooked out, the call of conscience never dawned on Jun Lozada; nothing appealed to the better angel of his nature, which proved his strong attachment to crass materialism. This made him tame his guns even after Joey Devenecia publicly divulged the deal and Secretary Romulo Neri implicated former COMELEC chair Benjamin Abalos to this multi-million-dollar scam,.
But when he has nowhere to run and nothing to hide, and material gains have already become impossible, Jun Lozada, in what had been seen as a master stroke, dramatically stepped forward to tell his story. Clearly, by doing this, he does not offer himself in the altar of sacrifice; he saves his neck. By telling what he knows, he does not put his freedom to jeopardy; he secures it.
This is a ploy, with the public turning out as unwitting victims – courtesy of the opposition and the activist forces.
Is Jun Lozada a hero? The answer is NO! He is as worst a scoundrel and as smelly a skunk as I am. He is as ordinary as you and me.
Let us listen to what he would still say for the sake of the truth, alright! But, to have the word “hero” appended to his name is inexcusable extravagance.
