Sorry, Noli, but the presidency is not always equipped with a tele-prompter. In fact you should also resign and return to your masters at ABS-CBN. The Lopezes have as much historical evil as the resident evil now in Malacanang – Ado Paglinawan

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Itappears that there is a move, nay, there are moves among Filipino decision makers to go after Filipino Vice President (VP) Noli de Castro and make him the Filipino counterpart of disgraced American Vice President (VP) Spiro Agnew.

“Spiro Agnew” who? Some young Filipinos and Overseas Filipinos may not remember VP Agnew. Here is, therefore, a good biographical sketch of Mr. Agnew, U.S. Senate: Art & History Home > Spiro T. Agnew, 39th Vice ...

If you cannot access the hyperlink, please click on this URL

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Spiro_Agnew.htm

After the Watergate Scandal surfaced, then President Richard M. Nixon and his strategists thought that by offering VP Agnew as some kind of a sacrificial lamb, the political heat would go away. Mr. Nixon’s opponents also backed off temporarily because they knew that VP Agnew had some ugly skeletons in his political closet. Yes, Mr. Agnew accumulated the skeletons while he was a county executive in his home state of Maryland. The American decision makers thought that it was bad for the country to have Mr. Nixon be replaced by another crook in the person of VP Agnew. The rest is history and indeed Mr. Agnew was forced to resign the vice presidency in utter shame. Mr. Agnew’s resignation did not of course save President Nixon, who was also forced to resign later. Yes, President Nixon was forced to quit but only after then Congressman Gerard Ford was sworn in as Vice President. After all, Mr. Ford was a clean-cut member of the American Establishment, perhaps even a favorite of the military-industrial complex.

Perhaps President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s (PGMA’s) political strategists have already recommended an Agnew-like maneuver, if her camp wanted to prolong her Dispensation. It seems that there is now a campaign to make the Filipino Vice President follow in the footsteps of Mr. Agnew.

VP De Castro should remember the Chinese proverb: “If you live in a glass house, do not throw stones at your neighbors.”

Text messages are now going around in Metro Manila accusing Mr. De Castro of gifting a lady friend with a 200-million-peso mansion in a Makati City subdivision. Several Philippine senators have asked the Filipino Fourth Estate to ask Mr. De Castro to address the rumors of corruption and immoral conduct. Of course, the camp of Sen. Loren Legarda, who came in second in the vice-presidential election of 2004, should be very much interested in the result of this smear campaign. If VP De Castro is forced to resign, would not Senator Legarda be the best nominee for the vacant vice presidency – from the viewpoint of poetic justice? What other financial scandals would be leaked to the press that would connect VP De Castro to scoundrels and scalawags? Do we hear a move to impeach VP De Castro in the PGMA-controlled House of Representatives?

There is also the argument on the part of the Legarda supporters that actually Mr. De Castro won because of the cheating done by the Arroyo-De Castro slate, as evidenced by the “Hello, Garci” tapes. In fact, Senator Legarda has been arguing that without the cheating done in the tabulation of votes, she would have won handily the vice presidency.

From what ever angle political pundits look at the situation of VP Noli de Castro, he seems to be the new personification of Jose P. Rizal’s political novel The Social Cancer (Noli Me Tangere) Introduction that is published in the www.DrRizal.com (a section of this website). Yes, it will be a pity if VP Noli becomes the caricature of “Noli Me Tangere” (pun intended), which means in English, “Touch Me Not.” If the Agnew-like moves against Mr. De Castro continue to escalate and succeed, who would want to touch Mr. De Castro (and shake his hand) even in the morning of his last day in office as Vice President?

And finally, here is my unsolicited advice to VP De Castro. Please remember the Chinese proverb: “If you live in a glass house, do not throw stones at your neighbors' homes.” # # #

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