This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 2, February 12-18, 2006
Analysis
Strange Bedfellows Indeed
If President Arroyo is to be
given credit, it is in unifying the people against her administration.
BY BENJIE OLIVEROS President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
and her allies scoffed at the unprecedented gathering of opposition leaders
namely, former President Corazon Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Susan
Roces, widow of the late movie actor and presidential candidate Fernando Poe
Jr., and former President Joseph Estrada at a thanksgiving Mass at the San Juan
Medical Center February 5. It was called a “meeting of strange bedfellows” by
House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles. It is indeed a gathering of
strange bedfellows coming barely two weeks after the commemoration of Edsa 2.
Even the Arroyo administration cannot help but notice that it was a gathering of
personalities who were at odds during Edsa 2. The only people of significance at
Edsa 2 who were lacking during the gathering were the legal left led by Bagong
Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance) and its member-organizations, Bayan
Muna Party (People First Party), and church leaders. Former President Fidel V.
Ramos was also not there but after a series of flip-flops he finally ended in
Arroyo’s camp. The Arroyo administration
has belittled the capacity of the opposition to unify because of contending
interests. Nograles has even contradicted himself by saying that the
opposition’s “declaration of unity has not materialized” and yet saying that
these strange bedfellows are “bound by a common desire to oust the President at
all cost”. But is so doing he hit the
point. The people who gathered at San Juan are united in their view that
President Arroyo has questionable mandate, her administration is wreaking havoc
on the lives of the Filipino people, and that she cannot stay in Malacanang till
2010. And they are not the only ones opposed to and calling for the resignation
or ouster of the Arroyo administration. Bayan, Bayan Muna,
Gabriela, Kilusang Mayo Uno (May 1st Movement) were not there but
they have consistently pushed for the ouster of Arroyo. They are steadfast in
their efforts to muster the numbers that will oust the president. Church leaders, especially
the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), have refrained from
calling for Arroyo’s resignation or ouster but they have become increasingly
critical of the administration. Not even the resurfacing of controversial
former Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)
and his public declaration that he was not the person in the controversial
“Hello Garci” tapes and that President Arroyo did not cheat during the elections
convinced the CBCP and put a closure to the issue of electoral fraud. And
notwithstanding the CBCP official position, Bishops Cruz, Tobias, Labayen, and
Yniguez have criticized the administration openly and have called for her
resignation. If President Arroyo is to
be given credit, it is in unifying the people against her administration.
The main protagonists at
Edsa 2 have transcended the past and have set aside their differences and
conflicting interests to unite against the Arroyo administration. They may not
agree on the manner of removing President Arroyo, by resignation or ouster, and
the manner of choosing her immediate replacement, by constitutional succession
or through a transition council, but this does not prevent them from working
together. They are also united in the need for fundamental reforms and in plans
to hold elections to choose who will eventually replace Arroyo. Executive Secretary Eduardo
Ermita is wrong in saying that, “The fact remains that President Arroyo has the
mandate of the people.” It is precisely this mandate that is now under
question. The recap by the Social Weather Station of its 2005 surveys shows
that 71 percent believes that there was massive cheating during the 2004
elections. But it is a fact that Arroyo refuses to yield even as her
satisfaction ratings are at a historic low and is continuously plunging. It is
also a fact that majority of Filipinos want her out. If President Arroyo
continues to hold on to power, then the saga that is the People versus Arroyo
may finally reach its logical conclusion. Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
Bulatlat