Trillanes failed "power grab", Makati standoff now lost in translation

The overriding message of the Makati standoff led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig Gen. Danilo Lim was CHANGE.

There is moral bankruptcy in each and every social stratum. Corruption is in epidemic proportion in our country.

It is time to call for an honest to goodness moral revolution. It must start from each and every one of us, Filipinos. This moral revolution is not just for politicians, businessmen, church leaders but also for those in the middle class and the downtrodden.

The Philippines is in dire need of CHANGE. There is a "social volcano" waiting to erupt. If nothing is done about it, chaos will ensue. A civil war might not be farfetched.

Unfortunately, Trillanes, Lim and their cohorts the Magdalo group, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Bishop Julio Labayen, Fr. Robert Reyes and former University of the Philippines president Francisco Nemenzo Jr. garbled the message of CHANGE when they holed up at the Manila Peninsula to demand the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

When the police rammed the entrance of the plush hotel with an armored personnel carrier and hauled journalist covering the failed "rebellion", the media too lost its focus. Instead of homing in on the message of CHANGE, opinion writers and commentators are now talking about how their colleagues were manhandled by government forces out to restore law and order.

The message of CHANGE was lost in translation. We all failed to clearly process the situation because self interest came into play. The supporters of President Arroyo came up with there own message. The opposition also had their own message. The media too talked about their own predicament.

The crux of the matter here is that there is an unseen but clearly felt social unrest. This is because of the fact that our country is hounded by massive corruption and moral bankruptcy.

While we all whine over a decadent society, the businessmen who are experiencing economic stability, the middle class who are able to make both ends meet, the politicians who are recipients of "grease money" all refuse to rock the boat.

We should all focus on CHANGE. It must start from within.