The enemy is out there

During the advent of the Philippine-American war, toward the end of the 18th century, there was a leadership crisis in the Philippine government.
Emilio Aguinaldo, the self-proclaimed president of the First Republic and Andres Bonifacio, the founder of the Katipunan, were locked in a tight dispute on who should lead the revolution against the American forces.
Their disagreement got to a point where lives were threatened and the very core of what they were fighting for was lost in thought. It is said that at the height of their argument, when passions were running high and reasons were running low, Apolinario Mabini, the brains of the revolution, intervened to break the impasse. His firm words silenced the camp of Aguinaldo and Bonifacio, paving the way for a truce. He said: “Gentlemen, lest we pass what we are fighting for, please be reminded that the enemy is out there.”
I remember this story because the words uttered by Mabini that “the enemy is out there” may be as applicable during his time as it is during our time.
You see, the situation between Aguinaldo and Bonifacio can be likened to that of presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo. The former won the election hands down. It is not helping a bit that Robredo keeps saying, “Hindi pa tapos ang laban.”
My God! What laban is Robredo referring to? We are not at war.
We just completed the most peaceful aspect of our democracy. We chose a leader and the overwhelming majority elected Marcos. What’s wrong with that? Is this not the reason why we had an election in the first place?
Surely, we cannot let the voice of 31 million plus Filipinos be subservient to the will of the minority. Truly, we cannot allow the disgruntled losers to get the better of us. It was a fair and honest election. To protest the result is just creating an internal dissension which is not good for our country. Perhaps, Robredo and her supporters ought to be reminded of the famous words of Mabini that “the enemy is out there.”
We, who voted for Marcos, are not the enemy. We aspire for the same bounty as those who supported Robredo. We only desire what is best for our country. In electing Marcos, this is our way of making known our version of how the country must move on. If the kakampinks think otherwise, they ought to just wait for their turn and hope that in the next election, their chosen candidate wins. For the meantime, they should focus their energy against the real enemy like poverty, unemployment, criminality, drugs, etc.
Hardly has Marcos warmed his seat as a president that his leadership is already being protested. Students from no less than the state university are threatening to boycott their classes. Some priests and nuns have taken to the streets to encourage disobedience. The opposition party refuses to recognize the credibility of the election. Whatever, we deserve better than these. We do not deserve to be pilloried in the bar of public opinion only we elected Marcos. Remember, the famous words “the enemy is out there.” We are not the enemy. We have the same goals and aspirations for our people and our country as all other political deviants.
The time to fight on who should lead us is over. The time to define us by the color we choose is all behind us now. There are no more loyalists, no more dilawans or pinklawans. There is only one color – the color of unity, the color of the Filipino people.
Let me repeat. The enemy is not among us, it is out there. Every time we fight among ourselves, the enemy is rejoicing and taking one more strategic step in defeating us. This is what we do not want. What we want is only the best for us and for our country.