I do not want to sound like a party spoiler to what President Duterte would say as fair game for politicians, but the resurrection of Mrs. Arroyo to the political limelight is ominous. It is a phenomenon because no other political leader has accomplished that feat to regain political power. If luck is on her side, she might just end up as prime minister, under a parliamentary system, ruling for the second time in this beguiled land lorded over by hypocrites.
Being at the threshold of recapturing political power is somewhat ambivalent. It came at a time when the Filipino people elected a president who swore to put to an end corruption. Painful as it is to state, electoral dishonesty is a variation of corruption no matter how one would look at it. It is one form of corruption that continues as long as the political usurper remains in power.
Nothing is personal in the manner Mrs. Arroyo wrested the speakership from that brawl-prone Panteleon Alvarez, but the move was inauspicious for the occasion when supposedly our no-nonsense President was about to deliver his State of the Nation Address. The ruffian manner by which the Speaker was ousted portends that within the President’s political machinery, things are just about to crumble.
It is eroding from within because of our failure to understand that power grab always has with it a shade of corruption. It is corruption because it does not pass through the civil process to casts doubt on our fragile democracy. If Mrs. Arroyo has the support of the majority, surely there is nothing wrong in her being chosen the Speaker. Rather, it turned out to be distasteful because of the abrupt and rude manner of the takeover. That could have waited until after the President delivered his piece to the Filipino people, many of whom were glued to watch and see him talk.
What ensued was pure “bastusan blues” where the people saw Mrs. Arroyo shouting on top of her voice calling for order of the floor because the microphones were cut off. Even if she has already been sworn in, in that instance nobody knows she was already the Speaker because of the manner she stealthily succeeded which can still be categorized as power grab.
Her act, no doubt, caused the erosion in the credibility of a political party trying to galvanize the program of the President. That means, even if Digong is not tainted with corruption, just a breath away from him is one who is deeply soaked in corruption. It is most dangerous because it takes the dimension of wanting to make the act a precedent to make it acceptable to our democratic values.
Let us face it, Mrs. Arroyo’s presidency was an anomalous episode in our political history. She was enthroned to power in her first three years in office by coup d’ etat led by Hilario Davide, Jr. who is now ranting lies to discredit the proposed charter change. He is the same yellow avant garde that seeks to legitimize political vandalism by calling it “Edsa People Power 2.” Lest it be forgotten, the Edsa 2 hoopla was fully supported by the Church, the oligarchy and by their ever barking mascots who continue to style themselves as the “Militant Left.”
The election in 2004 could have served as her redeeming chance to eliminate the mistrust generated by power grab. She could have asserted that this time she was elected in a fair, clean and honest election; and now has the mandate to govern. More than ever, that ugly sequel in political history could have been laid to rest.
However, it seems that the vice of electoral cheating is now part of her DNA. Once again, she has resorted to the same addictive vice and would have no qualms in doing it to anybody who might block her quest for power, regardless of who he is.
The decision to allow her to serve beyond the six-year limitation was morally wrong. She knows that if allowed to run, that will be for history to watch. It was double whammy because the electorate were forced to serve to one who violated the Constitution.
As usual, the Supreme Court sought to align itself on the safe side arguing that the remaining term for which she served was less than four years to allow her to extend her stay for a total of 10 years. Thus, instead of punishing her, the High Court extrapolated on the word “succession” than on the crime of power grab.
The brazenness of Mrs. Arroyo was obvious, for even if she truly has the support of the majority of the members of Congress, her impulsiveness revealed she would not consider anything that might hinder or derail her ambition. Many were surprised to the removal of the Speaker not because of their love for him but on the manner how he was removed. It was the President whom she embarrassed and insulted.
People would not mind removing a wavering follower, but in her case, everybody knows she is a renegade to a party that is exerting everything to oust Duterte. She was indoctrinated by the same clerico-elitist dogma. For whatever reason why she drifted away, the electorate can always say they have been betrayed because the interest that guides her is her political ambition which is different from the reason why they voted for her.
Allowing her to rein in the House of Representatives, the policies of President Duterte could either be blocked or be made to undergo serious revision. This is not to speculate, but to bring out the reality that Mrs. Arroyo has been advocating policies often in contradiction to those proposed by the President. For instance, the policy of re-imposing death penalty. There was a bill already approved, but she dropped it at the last minute because the non-taxpaying clerics were against it. Neither did her decision to abate death penalty stop the rising tide of criminality.
On the issue of Bangsamoro Law, it cannot be denied that her government sponsored the MOA-AD for our Muslim brothers. Luckily, the Supreme Court rejected it only to be resurrected by Noynoy and now presented with a new version to make it palatable to our people. Many are against this appeasement law after they wrecked havoc in Marawi City which the terrorists themselves choose as their battleground.
The idea of gifting them a separate state euphemistically called “autonomy” is inappropriate, much that the issue is not that they have fewer rights, but one of reverse discrimination with them having more rights than the rest of the Filipinos. Even other Muslims are against this Malaysian-US sponsored autonomy for fear that its approval could effectively drop our Sabah claim and erase the Sultanate of Sulo which is the legal and historical basis of our claim.
On the whole, there is danger that Duterte will find himself surrounded by men not his own but by the followers of Mrs. Arroyo, with Duterte’s men sidelined and eventually eased out.
rpkapunan@gmail.com
