DEAR BROTHER KNIGHTS

Fate has kept me offline for an eternity (more than a month). Yesterday, for the first time my router signalled that I am back into the Internet – our La Solidaridad. I received more than 312 email (only a small portion was of consequence). Almost all of the remaining non-junk, non-spam mail dealt with the name PARAS (not even an email from my folks in California!) – just PARAS. Who is this man, who seems to be trying to rob us of better things to do – well, in all due respect – as I do not know this man personally – a man accused of plagiarism and other dishonourable acts – has been appointed as the new regional commander of the OKOR in Europe. Immediately, we ask ourselves – with all the accusations flying around, shouldn’t he decline taking that post until he clears himself or is cleared of the smear?

After diligently reading into all these exchanges – it cannot escape anyone’s sensibility that the Order has plunged into a new – its own - Dark Ages. I can assure you, my brothers that Rizal is fidgeting in his grave. We are doing him injustice – $+#!!&+# - I cannot even find the right words to express my extreme disappointment with the turn of events.

We, knights of Rizal, of the European theatre - should we not also withhold celebration and suspend acknowledgement of the appointment until the clouds hanging over the appointee dissipates? I cannot imagine myself heaving my glass to his glory nor can I follow him with a good conscience without losing my own self-respect. He is innocent until found guilty….a truism. However, what if he is indeed guilty of the misbehaviour (legal minds think otherwise – a crime)? What would be the entire charade for, if the truth outs? It is incumbent upon the man to come out and repudiate the accusations. When he finally clears himself – we should all make a “pilgrimage” and offer him the respect that his office as Regional Commander requires. We will fully support him. We will do that, but first things first.

We have waited long for Manila to decide on this mistake – we can wait another eternity for a correction.

¿Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Juvenal – Satires SVI 347

In one of the email I received, it pointed out that the appointment of PARAS violated a provision of the new By-Laws. I gather from the recipient list of that email that you are all aware of the quoted article. I need not elaborate. I will just translate, roughly, the above Latin title: “Who will guard the guardians themselves?”

Indeed, this reflects unto the guardians – the Supreme Council members and the Elders. I have heard that Sir Hilario Davide is a good man and I believe in that. Did power manipulators surrounding him blindfold him? I am inclined to suspect so. If he were aware of the consequence of that fateful decision that is now unfolding – he would have used his better judgement. Having said so, we should now make a personal appeal to him to resolve this matter and urge him to use the power under his command to rectify this “error.”

The appointment of Sir Lino Paras as Regional Commander is now making the chasm among and between the KORs in Europe, wider. Only an immediate and fair re-evaluation would probably slow down, if not stop, further dissatisfaction and disappointment.

To everyone – our leaders, especially and the membership, in general – remember this – the truth will always out! Cyberspace has accelerated its emergence and exposure. Only those who are afraid of the truth avoid or ignore this modern “La Solidaridad.”

Dennis Barcelona

www.knightsofrizal-hh.de / www.ivatan.de

Equality of Men
"Men are born equal, naked and without chains, They were not created by God to be enslaved, neither were they endowed with intelligence in order to be misled, nor adorned with reason to be fooled by others, It is not pride to refuse to worship a fellow man, to enlighten the mind, and to reason out everything. The arrogant one is he who wants to be worshipped, who misleads others, and who wants his will to prevail over reason and justice."
(Jose Rizal - Message to the women of Malolos, Europe, February 1889)