Dinky Soliman

What in God's name has happened to Dinky Soliman, erstwhile head of one of the largest networks of NGOs, erstwhile fighter for the true, the good and the beautiful as a pillar of the civil society group Kompil? I understand from Yvonne Chua's report that she was one of Cabinet members (who were divided on whether Ms Arroyo should own up to being the female voice in The Tape), who proposed she do so. And who enthused afterward that Ms Arroyo's apology came off well and led Malacañang officials into a chorus of "If We Hold On Together."

Hold on to what? Is it possible Dinky now believes a President can actually confess that she defrauded the voters and be forgiven and forgotten? Forgotten maybe, but not forgiven. Is it possible she now believes in holding fast not to truth and justice and morality but to lying, cheating and stealing?

Before that Imeldific display of devotion, Dinky had appeared on TV to say we had no choice but to keep Ms Arroyo, she was the only option we had. If an ordinary citizen had said that, I would have been astounded that anyone could propose mediocrity -- no, more than mediocrity, having to suffer evil -- as our natural fate in life. But for someone who used to represent a sector of society known for pushing back the limits of the possible, for rising to heroic heights amid great adversity and at great cost to oneself to damn iniquity, to say that; for someone to rally this country's top officials around a usurper and sing gleefully about communally persevering in ignominy-it's enough to make you lose your faith in humanity.

There's a scene in Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons" where Thomas More confronts a former protégé of his, who has just lied against him in court in exchange for juridical authority over Wales. More tells him sorrowfully: "It does not profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul. But for Wales!"

What can I say equally sorrowfully? It does not profit a woman if she gains the whole world and loses her soul. But for Peace Bonds!

It's so ... cheap.

From Conrado de Quiros. Read it all.