AS SEEN ON TV
Standing Press Release
This is not to undermine the efforts of the 4 Cory Aquino honor guards who stood up straight for 9 hours as the cortege took its painfully slow 22 kilometer procession under sun and rain from the Manila Cathedral to Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque.
Let me first make it clear that I admire their perseverance and stamina. And I am thankful to them for giving Cory Aquino the honor she so truly deserves. I also agree some cash reward and maybe a couple of media interviews are okay.
But I personally think there’s excessive flak over their accomplishment.
Private First Class Antonio Cadiente, Airman Second Class Gener Laguindam and Petty Officer 3 Edgardo Rodriguez Police Officer 1 Danilo Malab, Jr. are currently basking in their 15 minutes of fame giving media interviews here and there, making variety show appearances and receiving accolades from colleagues and the public during one too many award/reward-giving ceremonies.
They have also been promoted in what could be the easiest way to rise from the ranks without risking life in war. It’s a rather measly investment of just tired limbs and maybe a slightly inflamed bladder. Their unfortunate counterparts in Basilan have lost real limbs, when the Abu Sayyaf hacked them with bolos.
The four guards themselves have repeatedly said in their TV and Radio interviews that they never expected to achieve celebrity status for what many men in uniform consider routine. What they did was something any soldier can really be very good at--standing at attention.
In other countries, the ability to stand at attention for hours is the minimum requirement of any military guard. In Russia or England, soldiers assigned to guard monuments are not even allowed to move or make facial expressions. They have become so good at freezing and resisting even the most playful provocation by tourists. It’s just all in a day’s work.
In the Philippines, the feat of four men standing on their feet in a funeral would sweep Filipinos off theirs.
The people made them celebrities and spur-of-the-moment heroes because of their tenacity. It was impossible for TV cameras not to capture the only living things on that cortege. The people who viewed the entire coverage were enamored with the four honor guards doing their job. Seeing well disciplined soldiers must be that unusual these days hence the adulation.
But perhaps a deeper reason for the nationwide consensus to consider them “heroes” and call what they did “heroic” is the fact that discipline, valor and strong will exhibited by the honor guards are a rare attribute of our police and military officials.
The PNP is haunted by an image handicap as human rights violators and the AFP, marred with scandal and corruption. That’s why simple yet commendable deeds by men in uniform (such as standing at full attention) can be a chance to redeem soiled reputation.
And it’s not just the cops and soldiers that benefited from an image boost.
Governors, congressmen, senators and wannabes handed over cash to the guards in ceremonies fully covered by media. This is to be a gesture of gratitude for what they did for Cory. The benefactors are really hoping that it will endear them to Cory lovers. So like hungry wolves they also closed in for a public relations kill.
In the middle of all these the PNP and the AFP show off their new-found ambassadors of goodwill and why shouldn’t they?
There is really a need for both the police and military to do more to improve their image but opportunities are rather rare. It’s hard to do PR when all you’ve got are a couple of rub outs, intelligence failures, fund messes, partisan politics and loyalty issues.
So when a once in a blue moon window for good PR opens, expect the police and the military to milk it while it lasts.
(Comments are welcome. Please e-mail: stanley.palisada@gmail.com)