There is a limit to everything.

This adage has been proven true time and time again by the collapse of even the most ruthless and oppressive regimes. Even such empires as those of Alexander the Great who ruled virtually the entire civilized world at the time went when its time was up. Spain and Portugal , who once divided the world between them as though they were simply cutting an apple equally, are now merely a shadow of their former glories. The decline of their powers is glaringly shown in the manner they have been overshadowed by former colonies in the World Cup who learned the sport from them while they were still toiling as virtual slaves.

Modern-day dictators, from Hitler and Mussolini to Somoza, Idi Amin, Pol Pot and our own Ferdinand Marcos have all fallen from grace when their time was up. No one can hold on one second longer. The problem is not so much what is left after one's fall from grace but the penalty one gets when it is all over. Hitler chose to kill himself before he could face the gallows, while Mussolini and Somoza were executed in contrasting fashions.

So where does that leave petty tyrants?

The Philippine justice system leaves a lot to be desired. Marcos was allowed to die peacefully in a foreign land while his children have since made it back to prime posts in his native Ilocos Norte. It will not be as easy to get off the hook for those who have made a mockery of the justice system. One man's medicine is another man's poison. One man's gain is another man's loss. Those who think they can do as much as they please, who can destroy the environment and not be made to face the music for it had another think coming. It will be sooner than they expect.

The wheels of justice do turn in this country, perhaps not as fast as we want it to be, but it is not entirely motionless. Pretty soon those who have committed violations will be made answerable for their crimes in the respective courts of law. Petty tyrants will have little to complain. After all, they enjoyed it while their influence was working and their connections were paying off. They had their time. It is sad for those who are giving up much more than what they got. For a tidy sum, they will be giving up their careers, their honor and even their very future. How sad that they will find themselves caught in the crossfire, all for a tidy sum.

You will have to pay one day. There is no free ride in this world.