Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 01:02:00 03/11/2008
WHAT is all the current political activity leading up to?
Some groups are urging President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign, saying that she has lost the moral authority to govern in view of the many cases of graft and corruption involving her administration that have been exposed in various public forums. But Ms Arroyo has said she is not resigning and will serve out her term until 2010.
Some sectors are not in favor of Ms Arroyo's resignation because it would not work to their interest. These include some presidential aspirants looking forward to 2010. If Ms Arroyo resigns and her constitutional successor, Vice President Noli de Castro, takes over, he will have a big advantage over the other presidential aspirants. A De Castro presidency could set back the timetables of the other presidential aspirants by at least six years. That may be too long a time for them to wait for their turn at Malacañang, and they certainly would not want such a thing to happen.
What about a snap presidential election, as has been suggested by certain quarters? For that to happen, both the presidency and the vice presidency have to be vacant. And even granting that a snap presidential election would be held, Ms Arroyo's candidate would enjoy a big advantage because the infrastructure for irregularities in the Commission on Elections is still in place. Retired Justice Jose Melo has not yet assumed the chairmanship of the Comelec, and the nation does not know what he will do until he actually takes over the post.
A civilian-military junta perhaps? But how will it assume power? Most probably through a bloody revolution because from all indications the President will not surrender power without a fight. And if it's a junta, won't the military ultimately exercise all the power because they have the guns? And so the freedom that the nation regained at Edsa I will again be lost, and the generals will rule the land.
Meanwhile, various groups--the students, the religious, civil society, the opposition, the Left and concerned business groups--will continue their protest actions. But judging from what happened last Feb. 29 on Ayala and its aftermath, these groups may not be able to agree with one another and present a formidable, solid front, something similar to the hundreds of thousands that gathered in unity of thought and purpose on Edsa in the first People Power revolution.
Will the crowd be bigger in the next rally on March 14? Possibly. But it may be the last big demonstration before classes end and tens of thousands of young people studying in Metro Manila head for the provinces.
There is also people power fatigue. A recent Pulse Asia survey showed that only 16 percent are willing to join rallies against the NBN-ZTE deal, although 53 percent will support but will not join the rallies. People are just too busy making a living in these hard times for them to join protests, rallies and demonstrations. A person or a group has to present a really big cause or issue to get hundreds of thousands to join a rally. Something like the assassination of Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr. Or his widow, Cory C. Aquino, being cheated in the snap presidential election, and later, the announcement of then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos that they were withdrawing support for President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Will something similar to these happen during the current political turmoil?
It may be argued that the litany of corruption charges hurled against the Arroyo administration should normally get the people all riled up and excited enough to seek the ouster of the President. From the start of Ms Arroyo's presidency in 2001, the parade of charges has been endless:
The Impsa deal where high-ranking officials, including then Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, allegedly got $14 million in kickbacks; the P260-million Jose Pidal bank accounts; the P728-million fertilizer scam; the P2.5-billion poll computerization contract which was voided by the Supreme Court but for which no Comelec official has been prosecuted or penalized; the NorthRail and SouthRail projects entailing millions of dollars in kickbacks; and now, the $329-million NBN-ZTE deal where $130 million was reportedly earmarked in kickbacks for a group of officials and private persons. In any other country, a combination of corrupt deals like these would be enough to bring down a government. Here, we have protests and demonstrations, but so far that is all. Ms Arroyo must be one lucky President!
Copyright 2008 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
To
subscribe to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper in the Philippines,
call +63 2 896-6000 for Metro Manila and Metro Cebu or email your subscription request here.
Factual errors? Contact the
Philippine Daily Inquirer's day desk.
Believe this article violates journalistic ethics?
Contact the
Inquirer's Reader's Advocate.
Or write The Readers' Advocate:
c/o
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Chino RocesAvenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets,
Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94
![Zoom Image](javascript:popwin("http://images.inquirer.net/media/opinion/inquireropinion/editorial/images/pic-03110142020586.jpg", 640, 480))
Zoom
