Countering Jinggoy's 'Alternate' Endorsement of Gibby a.k.a. Gibo

(Repost of a pre-electoral article from Newsvine)

I AM voting Jinggoy Estrada for senator for two compelling reasons: (1) my appreciation of his manifested legislative competence, and (2) as an act of my support for his father Joseph Estrada who was unjustly victimized by the elite-maneuvered power grab of 2001. However, I express disgust over his apparent exhortation before a mammoth crowd to vote LAKAS candidate Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. in case they're not inclined to vote Erap for President instead. Gibo, whose real nickname is "Gibby" by the way, may be a perfect picture of shallow qualifications but is a very poor choice in terms of patriotic executive service.


 Gibo Bio

The "official" LAKAS standard-bearer seems on the outset a powerhouse of competence, much helped by his "Galing at Talino" presidential campaign packaging. He graduated top of his law class at the University of the Philippines, being even awarded with the Dean's Medal of Academic Excellence. He then topped the bar in 1989 with a score of 86.185%. In 1997, he obtained his Master of Law degree from Harvard Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. "Very cool" and "very unassuming" he was in college and apparently even up to now.

After graduation until 2007, Teodoro Jr. served as Congressman for Tarlac's First District. He was apparently so good he even became the Assistant Majority Leader in the 11th Congress. He passed quite a number of bills. Very impressive intelligence and performance as solon. 'Matalino' indeed he is. 'Magaling' he also is based on his legislative record.

In August 2007, "President" Gloria Arroyo appointed him Secretary of National Defense, remaining in that position until the administration LAKAS party drafted him as its standard-bearer for the presidential race come May 10, 2010. It is the executive branch record of "Gibby" a.k.a. Gibo that I find disconcerting.

No one is perfect but, to my humble mind, the endorsement of Gibo by Jinggoy is rather sick. The least the former  DND Secretary should have done for his presidential race is declare loyalty to the country by showing independence from the Illegitimate President--something he adamantly refuses to do based on his ridiculous claim that he is bound to bestow loyalty to Arroyo as a way of observing  the Filipino value of utang na loob (sense/feeling of gratitude or indebtedness). Doesn't it sound crazy to hear loyalty being professed in a company of thieves, cheaters, liars and simply, masters of impunity?


Gloria's Impunity Deserves No "Utang na Loob" from Gibo

Lest anyone forget, Gloria Arroyo--the object of Gibo's 'loyalty' has marked a legacy of immoral governance unparalleled in the entire history of the Philippine Islands. In her nine-year reign, she has been variously called unpalatable terms that anyone with even an iota of another Filipino used-to-be-cherished value of delicadeza would have found extremely repugnant. The widow of Fernando Poe Jr., the real victor during the 2004 elections, alluded to her as liar and thief and called her power grabber" not once but twice." Her own man, former NEDA Executive Director and CHED Chair Romulo Neri supposedly described her as "evil, with another even calling her a "lucky b_tch."

In late 2007, she was adjudged the "Most Corrupt President in Philippine History" during a nationwide survey. Lately, she's been described as responsible for greatly damaging the moral fiber of the nation. As the religious-clergy group Filipinos Sunday charged, Arroyo and her minions "lie and cheat with impunity," as ""No institution of our democratic system has been spared. No sector of society left unmolested. Long standing traditions have been violated."

Arroyo's also a constitutional violator, not limited to electoral fraud. Adding to her almost endless litany of corruption-laden deals was her entering into the multi-billion-peso Northrail Project without prior Monetary Board approval and the hugely scandalous-before=being-cancelled NBN-ZTE broadband project. Based from the 2005-2008 articles of unsuccessful impeachment proceedings, she also engaged in the misuse and abuse of presidential powers, including acts of the unconstitutional transfer of funds between government agencies, or from a government entity to political partisan projects.

Perhaps worst, from the perspective of human rights, is her conspiring and tolerating of extrajudicial killings that have victimized Filipinos from pretty much a broad spectrum of political colors. Even before the infamous Ampatuan massacre took place in late 2009, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines already described Arroyo's administration's legacy as one of "bloodshed and repression, its acts of omission and commission nurturing the impunity with which the enemies of press freedom have operated." As of 2009, the alternative media entity Bulatlat counts "more than 200 Filipinos--mostly activists--[who] have disappeared" under her reign. The most infamous of the desaparecido cases involve those of Jonas Burgos, son of Malaya founder and publisher, and University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.

Disrespect with people's lives, unfortunately, did not stop with the activists and critics. The height of impunity would come by way of the heinous mass murder of 57 individuals, including some 31 journalists and 26 women, children and other relatives and friends of the Ampatuan's rival clan of Mangadudatus on November 23, 2009. The Ampatuan massacre perhaps best symbolizes the callous, fraudulent rule of Gloria as the killing en masse actually ties to the 2004 travesty of the democratic process.

As revealed by the "Hello Garci" wiretapped evidence of 2004 electoral fraud, Arroyo spoke with former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano over details of efforts to manipulate the outcome of the presidential race in her favor. Playing a critical role in the poll manipulation that deprived FPJ of his rightful place in Malacanang was the Ampatuan warlord clan of Maguindanao province. In the official vote tally, Arroyo's lead over opposition bet Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ)  in seven towns controlled by the Ampatuans had the incredible average ratio of 99.83% to 0.17%; in two towns, FPJ even got a near-impossible zero vote each, with all votes going to Arroyo.

To cut the long story short, why would any decent, morally upright, intelligent, be principled man feel indebted to a political creature like Arroyo--enough to swear unfaltering loyalty to the Illegitimate? If Teodoro Jr. were truly decent, really morally upright, and genuinely be principled, why does he feel he has to reciprocate his appointment as DND chief with unwavering loyalty undeterred by reports of Villar/Aquino as the incumbent's "secret candidate." Amidst Arroyo's wickedness, the utang na loob line definitely does not fly. Unless Gibo is wicked himself and secretly in on Arroyo's evil schemes.


Gibo's Culpability and Incompetence as DND Secretary

While it is true that Gibby alias Gibo joined Arroyo's government only in August 2007 and, therefore, he was not part and parcel of much of her reign of impunity, the official LAKAS standard bearer is not entirely free of culpability. The Ampatuan massacre, it should be noted, occurred in 2009, over two years after he assumed leadership of the Defense department. How is it that under his very nose, the Ampatuans managed to grow (or continued to grow) too powerful and confident enough to have the temerity to perpetuate such a heinous, big-scale crime?

Simplistic clan vendetta the massacre was not because no warlord would dare include 31 or so innocent media people in any mass killing--unless he is confident of political support from the national government. What is more, regional policemen were reportedly involved and that the mass grave was supposedly dug days before the mass murder. What was Gibo doing in all these--sleepin on the job? He might not be the chief of the Philippine National Police but with his military connections, he should have been aware somehow of the movements prior to the massacre.

In fact, beyond incompetence, Gibo could be liable for abetting and tolerating the abuses and crimes of the Ampatuans. Maguindanao's infamous warlord clan has long been well known to be operating a private army that includes deputized paramilitary members and have controlled the province and even the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The existence of private armies is directly the DND secretary's concern. While Arroyo probably nurtured Ampatuan's warlordism in 2004 or earlier as a way of securing guaranteed (translation: fraudulent) Maguindanao votes, Teodoro should have been able to address the problem pretty soon after getting the DND portfolio.

Obviously, Gibo failed to carry out his duties as defense secretary when the Ampatuans seemingly even became bolder when they committed the heinous Ampatuan massacre. Under the incompetent watch of the presidentiable who has built his campaign on the Galing at Talino slogan, the dreadful Maguindanao warlord clan utilized its paramilitary-powered private army to commit the worst crime ever wrought on journalists. According to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, the Ampatuan massacre holds the record of having the greatest number of media people ever killed in a single day. .


Gibo's Ineptness as NDCC Chief

The Ampatuan massacre was not actually Gilbert Teodoro's first show of incompetence. Who among the less gullibles could really forget the ineptness of the National Disaster Coordinating Center, which he concurrently headed as DND chief, during the Ondoy typhoon tragedy last September 2009? How many lives could have been saved had the NDCC been prepared for such a contingency and acted more swiftly in its rescue efforts?

 Amidst the pleas for help, the cries of despair and drowning deaths of many, it was primarily the non-governmental entities, the media people in particular, who supplanted Gibo's missing hand when they set out to rescue and assist the affected Filipinos during the crucial initial hours of the flooding. The feeling of the Metro Manilans during those early hours of the Ondoy disaster was one of helplessness--spurred by the marked absence of government.

Teodoro defended the late government response to the flash floods by reasoning that the country only had 13 rubber boats at that time. So where did the $1.9 million emergency response official development assistance (ODA) and $6.6 million disaster preparedness allotment that Gloria's government received in 2007 go? The LAKAS presidentiable may arguably not have had a say in the nearly $1 million and reconstruction relief and rehabilitation funds the government got in 2006 but what of the huge assistance funds around the time he took office?

Is the lack of rubber boats a case of disastrous ignorant planning by Gibo's NDCC team? How is it that the entire government pitifully only had 13 rubber boats when three years ago, the government already recognized the dangers of climate change as evidenced by its creation of the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change (PTFCC)? As quoted by Bulatlat.com, the PTFCC's creation was spurred by the recognition that the archipelago "is highly vulnerable to the adverse effects resulting from climate changes and has been experiencing unusual number of high-intensity typhoons that have wrought devastation and anguish to our people."

The need for more life boats in the face of the adverse impacts of climate change on our archipelagic country--is that so hard for Gibo to figure out? Or is it a case of misappropriation, if not corruption of funds sanctioned or even helped perpetuated by then-NDCC head Teodoro Jr.?

When Gibo's camp and his deluded partisans take pride in his Galing at Talino, it makes one wonder whether they're purely buying his campaign line. Did they even consider his entire track record in government service, which includes his performance in the executive branch under which the position he is aspiring for falls under? For the "silent" supporters of Gibo, it seems that his Galing at Talino packaging got the better of them such that they skipped the part on the former DND Secretary's gross ineptness in, if not culpability for, the Ondoy disaster and Ampatuan massacre.


Why Jinggoy's Endorsement

Instead of Gibo, perhaps Jinggoy should have recommended instead Bro. Eddie Villanueva of the Jesus is Lord Movement, or green advocate Nicky Perlas, or even outspoken and nationalist-inclined Jamby Madrigal? These three underestimated presidential contenders deserve more the coveted Malacanang position over that of Gibo in terms of being free of wicked Gloria's corruptive influence.

Then again, it is possible Jinggoy and Erap's camp is only wisely splitting the votes of strong rival presidential candidates Manny Villar and Noynoy Aquino to ensure the deposed President's victory in the polls? Besides, to endorse Bro. Eddie instead of Gibo may be unwise because despite what the mainstream conditioning surveys say, Bro. Eddie, with his command vote provided by his organized and several-million-strong religious group, seems to be already a silent force to reckon with.

Another possibility is that despite the supposed falling out between Gibo and his uncle Danding Cojuangco, the former could just be serving as a link of sorts to the latter's protracted friendship with President Erap. Didn't the former president remark in a television interview that one thing he misses during the current presidential campaign as compared to the 1998 campaign is the presence and support of Danding?

The presidency is not just about shallow qualifications. To echo columnist Herman Tiu Laurel's argument, the presidency is, above all, governance fueled by "love for the people and standing by a firm conviction." Ideally, a conviction marked by "strong belief in his own cause to risk and actually suffer detention for it." Erap has shown his conviction and lover for the Filipinos, the masa in particular but Gibo, with his unfaltering loyalty to Gloria and dismal performance as DND/NDCC chief, has not.

At any rate, whether Gibo showed incompetence and/or corruption in preventing or handling in the Ondoy flooding and Ampatuan massacre, or whether he deserves Jinggoy's endorsement or not,  it will not be good for the country to have another Cojuangco for president. Another Cojuangco--another member of an illustrado family, of Chinese variant though the family may be--being in a powerful position will represent not only the continued perpetration of political dynasties but, worse, continued elite control or influence on the reigns of power. During President Ferdinand Marcos' time, there was Gibo's first degree uncle, Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco as influential crony. Then with Marcos's ouster came President Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino, Danding's cousin. These two Cojuangco branches continue to be influential and rather powerful up to now. Then again, Noynoy Aquino of the Liberal Party, Cory's son, is also a Cojuangco.

The Cojuangcos, especially the Danding branch may be friends with the Estradas, in particular Erap, the "Father of the Masses." Jinggoy's support of sorts for Gibo (as alternative to a vote for Erap), however, does not bid well for the masa and the Filipino people in general. In short, a Teodoro Jr.  could virtually spell another six years of the wicked Illegitimate's rule. No to Gibo please....

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References

The Media Under Arroyo: A Legacy of Bloodshed and Repression. July 2007. National Union of Journalists of the Philippines Site. http://nujp.org/v4/2009/07/the-media-under-arroyo-a-legacy-of-bloodshed-and-repression/

Clergy group pushes united action for May polls. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/187687/clergy-group-pushes-united-action-for-may-polls

Neri described Arroyo as evil. http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=2142
Journalists revisit Ampatuan massacre site. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/12/09/09/journalists-revisit-ampatuan-massacre-site

After Ampatuan Massacre, 2009 a Record Year for Journalist Killings Worldwide. 18 Dec. 2009. http://www.pinoypress.net/2009/12/18/after-ampatuan-massacre-2009-a-record-year-for-journalist-killings-worldwide/

Herman Tiu Laurel. "Persuading the youth." The Daily Tribune. 19 March 2010. http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100319com5.html

Lopez, JP. "'Gloria is evil'." Malaya. 19 February 2008. http://www.malaya.com.ph/feb19/news1.htm
President Arroyo Committed Culpable Constitutional Violations On Three Counts, Pimentel Says. 8 February 2005. Senator 

Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel Site. http://www.nenepimentel.org/news/20050208_GMA.asp

Pulse Asia. Pulse Asia's October 2007 Special Report on Corruption-Related Issues. http://pulseasia.com.ph/pulseasia/story.asp?ID=628

Ibon Foundation. "Where Did Millions of Aid for Disaster Relief Go? Ibon Wants to Know." Bulatlat.com. 2 October 2009. http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2009/10/02/where-did-millions-of-aid-for-disaster-relief-go-ibon-wants-to-know/

Padilla, Arnold. "Analysis: Beyond Ondoy and Climate Change, Blame Goes to Arroyo, Teodoro." Bulatlat.com. 2 October 2009. http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2009/10/02/analysis-beyond-ondoy-and-climate-change-blame-goes-to-arroyo-teodoro/

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Photo Credits

CBS News.

Gibo image. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?pid=73413&op=2&o=global&view=global&subj=1422302947&id=100000877271966

Fallen Young Red Fighter Kemberly Jul Luna - Within the context of the EDSA 2-Arroyo/Ramos-CPP-NPA connection

THE death of 21-year-old Kemberly Jul Luna caused quite an uproar in the activist and leftist circles. Jul was a popular, charming, merry, and yes, beauteous, true-blue scholar ng bayan with multiple talents and interests from the Mindanao State University (MSU). She died a comrade, a member of the New People's Army (NPA), the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), during a days-long battle with the military in Sitio Bulacao in Valencia, Bukidnon last December. Her tragic, principled (or ideological?) death made me ponder on the current state of the communist movement in the Philippines.


"Kimay"

Called "Kimay" by friends, she was a high school valedictorian from Tubod, Surigao del Norte who enrolled in AB English at MSU. True to the calling of her age, she initially lived what the Philippine Daily Inquirer described as "bon vivant lifestyle" marked by late-night parties. Despite, she still managed sustained academic performance and a host of campus cultural activities. Intelligent, active, party-goer, yet socially involved, Kimay was once a leader of the Catholic Center Campus Ministry and member of the Kalimulan cultural dance troupe until she embraced the leftist perspective.

In February 2008, she became an active member of the League of the Filipino Students. Supposedly, that was the time Kimay "shed herself off of all the petty-bourgeois individualism." By the first semester of school year 2008-2009, she was chosen as adhoc chairperson of MSU's opposition party, STAND-IIT.

Came second semester and she did not enroll as she completely turned to a very radical path. According to STAND-IIT spokesperson Mark Jason Tan Cesar, "She wanted to serve the poor and she was very resolute. She told us that she wanted to work with the peasants in the countryside. There was no stopping her.”

October of the same year, she bravely took part in uncovering the impact of militarization and indiscriminate aerial bombing of war-torn Tagoranoa village in Poona Piagapo in Lanao. She then engaged in full-time work organizing peasants as she reportedly joined the province-wide KASAMA-Bukidnon organization January of 2009.


Young, Scholar of the Masses, NPA, Dead

In August 2009, she informed friends that she left KASAMA-Bukidnon, saying only that has developed greater love for the peasants with every passing day she lives among them. She became an NPA.

Kemberley was reported missing in mid-December 2009 by human rights group KARAPATAN-Bukidnon Chapter. When her body was found days later, it was already much decomposed and dumped with those of seven other alleged NPAs in the forest of Brgy. Concepcion.


CPP-NPA & 'National Liberation'

Columnist Herman Tiu-Laurel laments and questions Kemberley's death, saying that "She follows a long line of fallen young warriors over the past five decades which include several of my own friends and comrades. Is this still the right way to fight for national liberation?"

For its part, the Communist Party of the Philippines released a press release saying:

Her martyrdom is extolled as well by the peasant masses whom she intimately lived with and served as a Red fighter and medic of the NPA until her last day... Her life of tireless work and selfless sacrifice for the downtrodden will forever be etched in the hearts of those she loved, worked and died for.

Unholy Mix: CPP and EDSA 2

I'm not exactly endorsing the path July chose to take. I do respect her decision because the depth of her patriotism led her to offer and sacrifice her youthful, promising, beautiful life in pursuit of her conception of 'national liberation.'

However, the organization she embraced, the CPP-NPA, the Communist Party of the Philippines of the present time, to my mind, showed itself too flexible principle-wise when it took part in EDSA II--what a foreign media outfit described as "the opportunist coalition of church, business elite and left....". I expected better from Jose Maria Sison's group, as I remember questioning back then why they would even consider joining forces with those of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and former President Fidel Ramos whom then-President Joseph Estrada wanted charged for the Centennial Expo and other corruption scandals.

While I don't subscribe to any form of totalitarianism, whether left or right, or religious, I've harbored respect not only for the personal conviction and sacrifice of its members but, as well, for the underground organization's principles. Back in 1985-86, the Philippine communist movement was chided for its decision not to support or join the EDSA I (original) "People Power" Revolution. The 'culprit' was its strict adherence to its principles such that the movement was unwilling to compromise enough to accommodate the unified opposition led by Corazon "Cojuangco" Aquino and Salvador "Doy" Laurel.

Arguably, the CPP-NPA should not have merely stayed at the sidelines during the historic 1986 Edsa 1. Definitely, to my mind, the Philippine Reds should NOT have shifted to opportunist mode during Edsa 2 which aimed for nothing but oust the not-entirely-clean but, nonetheless, relatively patriotic and nationalist Estrada.

By taking part in the ouster of the pro-masa and genuinely elected Erap by coalescing with unquestionably fascist and elite elements, the local communists have indicated their dangerous adoption of what can be seen as counter-revolutionary strategy and anti-populist mind frame at will.


Gloria Arroyo, Part of Joma’s Foresight?

Then again, is it possible that the CPP-NPA calculated that a Gloria Arroyo presidency would be more conducive to their goals? Way back before Gloria was able to grab the presidency, she was without question already a fascist, even imperialist agent.

Along with then President Ramos, Senator Arroyo was responsible for Philippines' membership in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade-World Trade Organization (GATT-WTO) in 1995. She was also the principal author of what has been called "the most environmentally-hazardous law of the land," Republic Act 7942 or the 1995 Mining Act, which permits foreigners a hundred percent ownership of the country's mines.

Compare Gloria to Estrada, who, despite the latter's agreement to the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), nonetheless braved neo-imperialist foreign interests by removing sovereign guarantees on government contracts. Did CPP-NPA leader Joma Sison figure that replacing the rather 'uncouth' but popular and pro-masa Estrada with 'fascist' Gloria Arroyo could speed up their brand of national liberation struggle?


2008 Mindanao War: Gloria, Kimay & Joma

It's been speculated that Arroyo virtually cooked up the October 2008 war in Mindanao to present an excuse to declare Martial Law in the country and extend her term scheduled to end in June 2010. Her administration signed the Memorandum of Agreement-Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) with Muslim rebels while well aware that such dismemberment of the Republic won't be allowed by the Christian community not only in Mindanao but in the capital. According to an October 2008 Malaya editorial, the MOA-AD is an "elaborate charade... [apparently designed] to provoke the MILF into going back to war as what is happening now" after the Supreme Court TROed the agreement.

A few months after seeing first-hand the horrors wrought on Davaoenos by the Mindanao war , Kemberly advanced from full-time peasant organizing to become an NPA. Wonder if Joma Sison foresaw Gloria's Illegitimacy would turn the 2001 power grabber into a devil-may-care megalomaniac, thus inadvertently serving as a hopefully effective NPA recruiting machine?

The last paragraph in the January 8, 2010 CPP press release on Kemberley Jul Luna's death reads:

Let us pay tribute to Kimay by amplifying the call for student, youth and other activists to join the New People's Army. As the people's revolution gears for greater advances, there is a growing need for more youth and students and activists from the other sectors to sign up as Red fighters, combine with the peasants and workers and contribute to carrying out the tasks of people's war with unprecedented vitality.

EDSA II - Part of Joma's Foresight, or Plain Mob Crazy?

It is a fact that the Arroyo administration is credited with the most number of salvagings, desaparecidos, and human rights violations in Philippine history, largely targeting the activists and socialists. Has the Philippine Left been had by Arroyo and Ramos when its members supported the EDSA 2 ouster of Estrada?

Or did Joma, et al. chose to avoid a more progressive administration to advance its “people’s war”? I’ve long harbored the suspicion that why Joma’s group went against Erap and took the side of the clearly fascist (or more fascist) Arroyo and Ramos was because Estrada’s ‘bakya‘ or masa appeal presented a strong competition in winning the masses, whose support they need in order to further their war style towards national liberation.

Of course, I could be wrong. I hope I’m dead wrong.

Then there’s the possibility that neither applies for the 2001 Edsa coup. If I remember accurately, broadcaster Korina Sanchez-Roxas commented back in early 2001 as to what could have possibly brought about Edsa 2, saying something like “It’s as if a cloud of something descended upon the people who took part in it.” It is not entirely impossible that the Edsa II people simply went mob crazy. So crazy they went the side of Centennial-Expo-defensive Eddie, ‘Tabako’ Eddie....

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References:

Baguisa, Pedro. Philippine Communist party PKP-1930. http://www.solidnet.org/cgi-bin/agent?meetings/779=communists_experience_with_alliances_and_cooperation_23-25_06_2000_athens/821=philippine_communist_party(pkp-1930)

In Memory of Kemberly "Kimay" Jul Luna: Iskolar ng Bayan and Freedom Fighter (July 23, 1988 - December 15, 2009). Arkibong Bayan Site. 8 Jan. 2010. http://www.arkibongbayan.org/2010/2010-01Jan04-Kimay/kimay.htm

Ofreneo, Rene and Malaluan, Nepomuceno. Threat Economics. 12 Nov. 2007. http://www.uniffors.com/?p=1167#more-1167

Philippines: CBCP should reject Arroyo along with her Mining Law, environmentalists say. http://www.pinoypress.net/2008/02/25/philippines-cbcp-should-reject-arroyo-along-with-her-mining-law-environmentalists-say/

"The road map to war." Malaya. 23 Aug. 2008. http://www.malaya.com.ph/aug23/edit.htm

Tiu-Laurel, Herman. Infowar vs national mental rot." The Daily Tribune. 11 January 2009. http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100111com4.html

Tupas, Jeffrey. "A life of passion for poor remembered." Inquirer.net. 07 Jan. 2010. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20100107-246059/A-life-of-passion-for-poor-remembered

Images: 
http://www.arkibongbayan.org/
http://joseangelito-angeles.tripod.com/marcos.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/

Diatribe on Edsa 2--& why God gave us 'Arrobobastic' Gloria

(Arrobobastic - adj. 1. plunderously bombastic; 2. extremely ostentatious in lifestyle, beyond any reasonable SAL, or Statement of Assets and Liabilities. [See "Gloriastic is the new Imeldific" Philippine Commentary article & comments.] "Arrobobastic" is a neologism derived from the incumbent Philippine President's surname, the English word "bombastic," and "dorobou," a Japanese terms meaning "thief.")

Together, the $20,000 + $15,000 U.S. dinners of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo are not the Illegitimate's greatest sin, or alleged sin. Those immorally expensive meals certainly cannot be worse than the alleged-but-widely-believed "Hello Garci"-styled electoral fraud of 2004, nor the NBN-ZTE attempted deal, nor the August 2008 war in Mindanao brought about by the MOA-AD that is said to have been part of Gloria's bid for term extension. At worst, the dinners just constitute the icing on the cake of a sinful presidency baked in the undemocratic urn of Edsa 2.

EDSA 2 - blunder, coup, cover-up

Edsa 2 was simply a big, seditious lie hatched by opportunists in cahoots with those frustrated by the masa vote, a Machiavellian exercise, a "People Power" power grab that disrespected the sanctity of the ballot. A few tens of thousands of emotional gullibles, along with a few conspiratorial leaders, flushed down millions of Erap votes down the constitutional toilet big time. It could even be construed as discriminatory “People Power" coup based on its success in deposing Erap and the non-success of the counter-"People Power" in unseating Gloria four months later.



A more massive crowd that was Edsa 3 tried to undo the sacrilege of the pretender "People Power," but was not allowed. A sinful cardinal categorized them as the "great unwashed" not eligible for the holy Latin privilege of “vox populi, vox dei.” Masa "People Power" was simply 'devoid of political power,' so derided a UP political professor/analyst and Arroyo puppy.

Edsa 2 not only overturned the mechanisms of democracy relating to the presidency as instituted by the 1987. It also operated outside the constitutional framework when it went about the mandated guidelines for presidential succession. Of course, the court of Chief Justice Hilario Davide, the avowed street party-goer circa 2001, later legitimized Estrada's ouster by claiming the most mysterious legal doctrine of "Constructive Resignation," thereby ruling for Arroyo's installation. History, however, will always be reminded of the foresight of a 2001 Time magazine editorial on Edsa 2:

Again, therefore, whatever curious legal construction anyone may now attempt to put on the ouster of Estrada, he was ousted by a military coup, with the connivance of the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, major business groups, and two former presidents.”

God's Purpose for Gloria

Back to the lustfully fine dinners, those nearly P2 M-worth meals fit for a royal power grabber have come to highlight the excesses of a leader brought forth by a grandiosely covered-up coup. When analyzed within the framework of a "divine plan"--which Filipinos are wont to adhere to, is it possible that God gave us the Illegitimate, a.k.a. Gloria Arrobo (says limited edition P100 bills), as a grim lesson never to repeat Edsa 2?

I recently partly concluded a months-long chat debate with a left-leaning Edsa 2 defender who bothered to engage me and who I bothered to reciprocate in my blog's Shoutbox. He finally gave in a bit, at least saying sorry for Gloria's installation and admitting that Erap wasn't given "a chance to defend himself by ousting him." The exchange made me realize that Gloria made it easier to prove the undemocratic fallacy of Edsa 2.

Had Arroyo been anything like Cory Aquino, the Edsa 2 forces would probably still be bragging about the "wisdom" of their move to unceremoniously unseat a duly elected leader. They would probably have convinced the world that even a power grab laced by a gullible mob is righteous.




Had the Arroyo presidency not suffered from the perception of being the "Most Corrupt" in history, owing to the almost endless litany of corruption scandals, the conspirators and gullibles of the fake "People Power" would still be gloating today.

If only her administration had been clean, not seemingly plunderous, and simple in lifestyle, not obviously ostentatious; the Edsa 2 coup would have been vindicated to a satisfying height. Perhaps, then, the cover-up of the Edsa 2 coup by the rich and the rapacious would have been sealed tight.

The excesses and misuse of power by the Edsa 2 President simply made it crystal-clearer for Filipinos that whenever due process of impeachment justice is denied a duly elected leader, the process of impeachment will thereafter be railroaded to deny the people the right to unseat a corrupt incumbent. Just perhaps, the Creator is telling us through Gloria that if the media is allowed to be used to demonize a popularly elected President, that same media will be used to perpetuate a mandate-less administration.

Gloria Arroyo could possible be God's way of drilling down on the fallacy of Edsa 2. Her "Hello Garci" episode could be a grim reminder that when the people's electoral will is subverted through the ouster of a President who held the numbers, the ballot becomes stripped of its sanctity and big-time cheating becomes fair game.

The realm of the divine is perhaps teaching our people that that the short-circuiting of the Constitution by any cult movement against a man popular with the masses deserves a punitive lesson like Gloria. "Lies," the heavens could be saying, "breed more lies and more sins."

Gloria and Erap both profess some divine providence: the power grabber claims "God put me here" while the ousted swears to some purpose from above. Who knows? What is clear is that Gloria's 'arrobobastic' presidency made it easier for the Filipinos and the world to see that "People Power II" was undemocratic and immoral. Sorry to the adamantly unapologetic Edsa 2 people, but your own choice made sure that you won't get away with it unscathed.

___________

References:

Bizarre Legal Doctrine. Manila Mail. http://www.manilamaildc.net/2009/07/22/bizarre-legal-doctrine/

Bowring, Philip. (Putsch). http://www.bowring.net/putsch.htm

Bowring, Philip. Sisters in Power. http://www.bowring.net/megloria.htm

Estrada, Joseph. "If This Can Be Done to Me, Who is Safe?" Time. 11 Feb. 2001. Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,99007,00.html

Lee Sr says Arroyo's takeover no boost for democracy. (AP). 23 January 2001. http://www.singapore-window.org/sw01/010123ap.htm

Mydan, Seth. "Expecting Praise, Filipinos Are Criticized for Ouster." The New York Times. 5 February 2001. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/05/world/05FILI.html?ex=1204174800&en=835b6565116a0dd1&ei=5070

Philippines Turmoil Highlights Class-Based Politics.' 1 May 2001. Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,108226,00.html

Pulse Asia's October 2007 Special Report's Additional Findings on Corruption-Related Issues (Most/Least Corrupt Philippine Presidents). http://pulseasia.com.ph/pulseasia/story.asp?id=632

Tordesillas, Ellen. Responsibilidad ni Arroyo. 31 August 2008. http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=2709

Photo Credits:

Bulatlat. http://www.bulatlat.com
Pulse Asia. http://www.pulseasia.com.ph/pulseasia/home.asp
Yahoo News. http://ph.yahoo.com/s/258495

Arroyo's 2008 SONA as pack of lies, again

Gloria Arroyo's forthcoming State of the Nation Address will again be a pack of lies. Only 14 out of every 100 Filipinos believe there will be any truth in the scheduled July 28, 2008 SONA, compared to the 86% percent who either disbelieve or remain undecided.

The figures come from the latest Ulat ng Bayan research survey of independent public opinion polling firm Pulse Asia. Not counting the undecided, the marked predominance of those who dismiss Arroyo's 2008 SONA as not truthful compared to those thinking it will be truthful is seen across all demographic levels and social classes. The disparity of the number of skeptics versus those who tend to believe ranges from nearly 100 percent to over 400 percent in all categories of the respondents in the nationwide survey held from July 1-14, 2008.

A clear majority of those from classes A, B and C (36%) think that the scheduled SONA of Arroyo will not be truthful while only less than half (15%) believe it will be truthful. Among those in the D class, 41 % are skeptics while a mere 13% are believers.

In terms of age groups, the greatest disparity is registered in the 25-34 year-old group, with 48% thinking the SONA will be fictitious while a very small percentage (11%) think it will be factual. Even among government personnel, an overwhelming majority is skeptical whether the SONA of Arroyo: 39% believe it will be untruthful while only 15% think it will be truthful.

Among the college graduates or those with post-college education, the percentage of those who believe that Arroyo will lie in the SONA is much higher over those thinking she will not lie (34% vs. 12%). This belief is shared by those without any formal education, although the disparity is higher: 43% are skeptics while only 16% tend to believe.

Almost the same total number of Filipinos have adjudged Arroyo to have been untruthful in her past SONAs compared to those who think she has been truthful (14% vs. 13%). According to Pulse Asia's media release, the "currently low proportion of people (14%) who still believe that her SONA this year will be a truthful one" is a point of concern for the Philippines. There has been significant drop in public indecision over Arroyo's SONA and the "low proportion of believers in her SONA's truthfulness ...cannot possibly represent much political capital for her and her administration."

An earlier Pulse Asia survey study held in October 2007 has shown that Filipinos regard Gloria Arroyo as the Most Corrupt President in Philippine History, even beating former dictator Ferdinand Marcos for the ignominious title. Ironically, Joseph Estrada, her predecessor whom she deposed in the 2001 Edsa revolt, Joseph Estrada, is ranked number two as the Least Corrupt President in Philippine History, next to Corazon Aquino, during the post-Martial Law era.


References:

Table 3 Truthfulness of Forthcoming SONA of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Pulse Asia. http://pulseasia.com.ph/resources/photos/table3_SONA0807.gif.

Table 2 Truthfulness of Forthcoming SONA of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Pulse Asia. http://pulseasia.com.ph/resources/photos/table2_SONA0807.gif.

Pulse Asia's July 2008 Ulat ng Bayan Survey: Media Release on Public Perceptions Regarding State of the Nation Addresses (SONAs). Pulse Asia. http://pulseasia.com.ph/pulseasia/story.asp?ID=651.

Most Corrupt President in Philippine History. Pulse Asia. http://pulseasia.com.ph/resources/photos/table2_corruption_0710.gif.

Least Corrupt President in Philippine History. Pulse Asia. http://pulseasia.com.ph/resources/photos/table3_corruption_0710.gif.

Pulse Asia's October 2007 Special Report's Additional Findings on Corruption-Related Issues (Most/Least Corrupt Philippine Presidents). Pulse Asia. http://pulseasia.com.ph/pulseasia/story.asp?id=632.

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The conspiracy of Edsa 2: how Gloria Arroyo managed not to let President Joseph Estrada finish his term

Let [President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo] finish her term. She's doing so well. Why can't you wait?

- M. Andrews, presidential ex-classmate


Uttered amidst the increasing pressure for Gloria Arroyo to resign, this statement made by an Assumptionista high school classmate of the beleaguered President is actually a boomerang question that Andrews should have asked her pal seven years ago during the power grab disguised as Edsa 2 "People Power." Why did then Vice-President Arroyo not wait for the overwhelmingly-elected Philippine President Joseph "Erap" Estrada to finish his term, instead of grabbing the Philippine presidency away from him in 2001? In the face of accusations of supposed corruption and resignation calls against Estrada, similar to what Arroyo is facing now, why didn't she wait? Why???

The answer is that Gloria Arroyo and his husband, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, were among those who planned, along with elements from the rich business groups, the religious or hypocritical Catholic bishops and the rapacious fellow opportunist politicians, the ouster of the hugely popular Estrada. Contrary to what have been largely projected in the unscrupulous traditional media, the Arroyo camp manipulated and conned the gullible but perhaps well-meaning Edsa 2 mob that demanded Estrada step down after it became clear that the Senate would not impeach the sitting President.



Various international and local media accounts during and after the Edsa 2 coup d etat during the fateful days of January 2001 together paint the complete picture of how the Arroyos "hijacked the Philippines," as referred to by outspoken local journalist Ellen Tordesillas. Accounts come from the movie "Power Grab from President Estrada," Philippine Graphic, Time Magazine, The Straits Times, International Herald Tribune and New York Times.

Trampling on the 1987 Philippine Charter and the Electoral Process

According to no less than the Honorable Cecilia Munoz-Palma, the former Supreme Court Justice and chairperson of the 1987 Constitutional Commission, Edsa 2 caused the 1987 Constitution to suffer. "This happened when the ongoing impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada, was unceremoniously disrupted and discontinued, and the issues on hand were brought to the streets. The rule of law was set aside and the rule of force prevailed.”


Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, as quoted in the January 26, 2001 issue of The Straits Times, believed that “The change of power in the Philippines was no boost for democracy because it was done outside the constitution...”

Philip Bowring of the International Herald Tribune wrote in January 22, 2001 that "far from being a victory for democracy that is being claimed by leaders of the Anti-Estrada Movement such as Jaime Sin, the evolution of [the Edsa 2] events have been a defeat for due process.”


The New York Times’ account, through Seth Mydans' article on February 6, 2001, reported how Edsa 2 was perceived as "an elitist backlash against a president who had overwhelmingly been elected by the poor. This time, it appears, "people power" was used not to restore democracy but, momentarily, to supplant it."

On January 21, 2001, Gloria Arroyo took her oath of office in open air, amidst the jeering jubilation of a mob gullible enough to believe it was pure "People Power" at work in the ouster of the popular President. Estrada, the only post-Martial Law President who has been unequivocally elected into Malacanang, expressed "strong and serious doubts about the legality and constitutionality of her proclamation as President". Earlier, protesters in lynch mode had broken through the barriers of the presidential palace where the embattled President had holed up.

Sinister and Well-Planned

Ludicrously unknown to the manipulated, gullible crowd of Edsa 2, the conjugal greed of Mrs. and Mr. Arroyo had been well in the works days before Estrada's impeachment trial began in the Senate. Two months after Gloria Arroyo took the presidency, the First Gentleman Mike Arroyo recounted events that led up to Edsa 2--revealing the political machinations and scheming that the husband and wife team conducted behind the doors. The following are excerpts from the interview Mike Arroyo granted to acclaimed Filipino writer Nick Joaquin, which appeared in the March 5, 2001 issue of the Philippine Graphic:

"[Vice-President Gloria Arroyo] had really left the Cabinet at the right moment: the timing was perfect. If she had tarried a moment longer, she would have been too late for EDSA: she would have made it there as an opportunist. And as for the ill-feeling in Metro Manila, we tackled that by going back to the door-to-door campaign: she went from barangay to barangay explaining her motives, outlining her program. And it worked. Then came the impeachment trial, and from there, tuloy-tuloy na [everything fell into place.

"There was a time honestly, when I felt I erred in advising her to resign from the Cabinet. The masa [masses] in Manila apparently wanted her to stick it out with Erap. And when she started attacking him, everything fell on us - grabe [terrible!]- everything! But I told myself: it's now or never; if we lose here we're totally destroyed and it's goodbye to her political career - but if we win here, she becomes President! So we really fought.

"We got all those Erap tapes from Ramon Jacinto and distributed them all over. We bought one million and a half million copies of Pinoy Times to give away so the public could read about the Erap mansions and bank accounts.

"And when EDSA happened, we texted everybody to go running there. EDSA, EDSA: everybody converge on EDSA! Panalo kung panalo! [Patay kung patay [Come victory or defeat!] Jinggoy [Estrada] had already announced what they would do to us if they won.

"Chavit Singson had Plan B involving elements of the military to strike the first blow. They would kindle the spark by withdrawing from the government, and one by one others would follow: Class '71 would also withdraw, then Class '72, and so forth. But General de Villa warned that the timing had to be precise because one untimely move against the government and the military would automatically defend it. The move must be made at what De Villa called a 'defining moment.'



"You see, General De Villa had his Plan A, which was better than ours, because his was focused on the Chief of Staff and the Service Commanders. At past one o'clock p.m. January 20, Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes defected but we knew that already the night before, when negotiations had lasted until the small hours. By past 2 a.m. we knew Reyes had been convinced to join. His only condition was: Show us a million people on EDSA so it will be easier to bring in the service commanders.

"And they asked when the crowd was thickest; we told them: from three to five in the afternoon. So they agreed to come to EDSA at around that time. But while hiding in their safehouse, they got reports that General Calimlim could not be located and their first thought was: "He's out looking for us!" So they decided to rush to EDSA right away. When they got there, why there too at the Shrine was Calimlim! He had been looking for them all right, but join to join them, not to arrest them!

"Our group there was a back-up strike force. In fact, it was our group that won over to our side the PNP first. If [Philippine National Police Chief] Panfilo Lacson had resisted, he and his men would have been repelled: there would have been bloodshed, but not on EDSA. In every place where Erap loyalists had a force, we had a counter-force to face it, with orders to shoot. And not only in Metro Manila. Carillo had already been sent to the provinces; and in Nueva Ecija, for instance, we had Rabosa. This was a fight to the finish. That's why those five days that Erap was demanding were so important. He was counting on counter-coups and baliktaran [loyalty switch].

"I was negotiating with Pardon up to three o'clock in the morning: niloloko lang pala kami [we were only being deceived]. But I told him point-blank: "If by six o'clock this morning you haven't given us the resignation letter, we will storm the gates of Malacañang!' But they insisted on more talk: with De Villa up front, and my back channel debate with Pardo, which even became a three-way contest, with Buboy Virata pitching in.

"But the threat to march to Malacañang was for real. And so was the danger of bloodshed. I wasn't telling Gloria everything: I didn't want her alarmed. So she didn't know about the orders to shoot."

Mike Arroyo's unguarded revelations surprisingly lend practically indisputable credence to Estrada's assessment of the Edsa 2 development. As it appeared in the Feb. 11, 2001 issue of Time magazine, Estrada described Edsa 2 as not actually a "People Power" uprising but rather, "swift justice indeed -- as in a lynching. It repudiated the very essence of due process enshrined in the constitution. Mob rule catapulted Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency..." Estrada's belief that Edsa 2 "was hatched in the boardrooms and gated villages of Metro Manila and backed by a text-messaging generation" would unwittingly be corroborated by the better half of the presidential usurper.

Why did Arroyo not wait for Estrada to finish his term ending 2004? Why did she and her husband have to spend and buy 1.5 million anti-Estrada propaganda material? Why did they scheme with seditious politicians, influential civilians and generals for the unconstitutional ouster of a democratically elected and largely popular sitting president? As the First Gentleman revealed himself in the interview by Joaquin, the masses wanted her to be loyal to Estrada. Why did she go against the will of the majority? The answer is simply because she was the ambitious character who was next in the line of succession who decided to manipulate the situation into the opportunity to 'inherit' Malacanang early enough, and without the prospect of possible electoral defeat in May 2004. Coming from the mouth of the horse's husband, ...if we win here, she becomes President!".

Cory, the Youth, Intellectuals and Civil Society "Gullibles"--All Been Had

The Edsa II "People Power" coup d e'tat was hatched through the coalesced leadership of elements of political opportunists galvanizing under then Vice-President Arroyo, rebel military influenced by ex-President Fidel Ramos, Catholic bishops led by Jaime Cardinal Sin, and Philippine leftists such as former communist rebel Satur Ocampo. Undoubtedly, there were other groups behind the unconstitutional fiesta mob rule of the 2001 Edsa. There were the influential business elites, of course, and as well, the Protestant Jesus is Lord Movement by Bro. Eddie Villanueva. These groups could be said to be the plotters, each of which falls into the category of either being devious, vengeful, or well-meaning but misguided. Estrada was, after all, far from perfect. It was easy for those with poor democratic values to seek the Machiavellian way out of a President who acted like, and preferred to identify himself with the masses, perhaps much too much.

On the other, there were the truly idealistic elements who only sought better governance for the Philippines. Former President Corazon "Cory" Aquino, acknowledged to be more of a moral force than a politician, by the civil society in particular, had of course been actively campaigning for Erap's resignation. But there were also the youth and the intellectuals. The youth, mostly prodded by the officials from their Catholic schools, and college students, influenced by their professors or student organizations, were very much part of Edsa II. These groups believed in using pure "People Power," enshrined in the Constitution, as vehicle for a change in government. The views of these elements were perhaps best summed up by the University of the Philippines Professor Clarita Carlos: during the TV broadcast coverage of the five days of the Edsa 2, she urged the Philippine military "Huwag na kayong makialam pa" ["Don't interevene anymore"]. The UP political scientist, along with the rest of the idealistic components, genuinely believed that the Estrada government could be removed by sheer force of an adulterated "People Power" movement. Alas, unknown to them were the schemes of the Arroyos and conspiring elements, not to change the government for the better, but to grab power from a President not to their taste and plans. As would later be unraveled through the Mike Arroyo interview and other accounts, the youth and the academic/intellectual community simply served to be gullible pawns in the power grab conspiracy of a fallacious Edsa 2.

Karma and Fallacy of the Power Grab

Today, in the midst of the increasing pressure for her resignation, Gloria Arroyo, through her elite-educated friends, has the gall to tell Filipinos to wait? Apart from her vile and illegitimate ascent to the presidency, Filipinos have all the right reasons to have her evicted. Why so? Gloria Arroyo is `not doing well. Well, at least not, in terms of her administration of the country well.



For one, a seemingly endless litany of corruption issues that virtually began on day one of her extraconstitutional ascent to power has led to her earning the humiliating title of "Most Corrupt" Philippine President, based on a 2007 national survey study. Recently, she bagged the moniker "evil" following the Senate investigation on the anomalous NBN-ZTE contract. Her record on human rights has been so alarming that even the European Union got concerned. Even independent, foreign entities have found the poor, if not dismal, state of the Southeast Asian nation under her regime. The latest of these is the Bertelsmann Foundation study that perhaps best reveals the general picture of the obtaining state of the Philippines under Gloria Arroyo. The Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index points to how the country has fallen in global ranking to 51 from 41 registered two years ago. “ The study also bares how:

[President] Arroyo took advantage of a range of undemocratic methods, critical media and utilizing government tools to secure the support of parliament. The murder of opponents, a dramatically high level of violence against journalists and repeated attempts to instrumentalize constitutional controls also represent deficiencies in democratic development.”

The Philippines is now faced with the spectacle of yet another change of leadership, as elements of the influential Catholic Church, big business and high-end civil society have staged various protest activities directed against the current occupant of Malacanang, the very President they illegitimately installed back in 2001. As eastern wisdom says 'the karmic cup may be slow to fill, but fill it will.' It has been seven long years since hers and Mike Arroyo's conjugal greed hijacked the Philippine presidency, but their karmic cup of evil lies and fraud and rapacious greed is full and ready to pour hard on them. Karmic, ironic, pathetic.

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The Stupidity of the EDSA 2 "People Power" Gullibles Relived

A running broadcast advertisement is reliving the stupidity of the EDSA 2 crowd conned into deposing the constitutionally-elected Joseph Estrada and installing Gloria Arroyo as successor. The anniversary advert running in Philippine television stations shows Arroyo swearing in as "acting President" amidst the seditious sea of mob humanity who flocked the streets of EDSA. What follows is a series of 'testimonies' of ordinary individuals who claim to have experienced economic gains after the revolutionary change in government. Amidst the consistent surveys showing the worst levels of hunger, worst perceptions of corruption and worsening personal and national quality of life and--all under Arroyo’s illicit reign--the political spot comes as almost a complete joke.


This laughable political advert is part of the "Arroyo administration's seventh anniversary celebration of the now infamous EDSA 2 putsch-cum-People Power that overthrew the popular Estrada, and which sent the Filipinos into seven years of polarization and political instability. It illustrates how Arroyo has used the power of media to seize power and even, to maintain her hold on it.

The traditional local media had largely hailed the 2001 coup as a "People Power" triumph over the supposed corruption of President Estrada. In fact, the mainstream broadcast and print Philippine media have served as an influential force in advancing the demonization and ouster of the sitting President and further, in deviously disguising before the Filipinos the constitutional anomaly that is EDSA 2.

Anti-Estrada Propaganda

The 'Estrada is Guilty' and 'long live EDSA 2!' propaganda campaigns participated in by most of the Philippine media actually began months prior to January 2001 during the drive to depose President Estrada. In what has been later exposed to be a well-orchestrated scheme by elitist elements that included the camp of then Vice-President Arroyo and former President Fidel Ramos, the local broadcast and print media played an instrumental role in demonizing Estrada and generating some public support for his ouster. Soon after Estrada decided to leave Malacanang to avoid any possible confrontation with his followers, the largest television stations, GMA-7 and ABS-CBN, ran for several weeks their 'victory' footages of the four-day revolution, acclaiming it as supposedly a victory for democracy in the land.


In contrast, the foreign media were in general agreement in their critical coverage of EDSA 2, describing the event as a power grab instead of as transition enabled by "People Power." Phil Bowring of the International Herald Tribune decried the impeachment walkout and the revolt, saying that "far from being a victory for democracy that is being claimed by leaders of the Anti-Estrada Movement such as Jaime Sin, the evolution of events has been a defeat for due process.” Time Magazine, in its February 19, 2001 issue, saw how “People power 2 was swift justice indeed--as in a lynching, it repudiated the very essence of due process enshrined in the constitution.”

Even foreign politicians and analysts shared the criticism of EDSA 2. Then Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew was quoted by The Straits Times on how he viewed "the change of power in the Philippines [as being] no boost for democracy because it was done outside the constitution." Wikipedia also quotes Hong Kong-based political analyst William Overholt who referred to EDSA 2 as "mob rule or mob rule as a cover for a well-planned coup."

In contrast to what the local media wanted the Filipinos to believe, EDSA 2 was no real showcase of "People Power" but rather, the fruition of a sophisticated and complex power grab conspiracy. Part of the planning and execution of the coup-in-disguise included the exercise of subtle psychological warfare by a major general who is a veteran in this game. In the midst of the Estrada impeachment, his predecessor Fidel Ramos--himself beleaguered by corruption charges--marched on the streets of EDSA in a move that seemed to (successfully) beckon the people to protest and follow suit.

People Power II Myths

Contrary to the lying claim propagated by the Arroyo administration and EDSA 2 stalwarts though media propaganda, the unseating of Estrada did not come about because of a well-intentioned, spontaneous popular revolt. An interview conducted by renowned author Nick Joaquin and which first appeared in the Philippine Graphic revealed that a power grab from Estrada had been planned long before the impeachment and that two of the key putschists were no other than Gloria Arroyo and her husband Mike Arroyo. With or without a popular component, the overthrow of the President with the highest plurality vote in history would have pushed through.

The defection of the military's top brass was the focus of the putschists' Plan A. This priority plan was what brought in the campaign to bring people to EDSA through media propaganda and centralized invitation by cellular texting. Arroyo's camp managed to convince then Chief-of-Staff Angelo Reyes to join, but on the condition that there will be a million-strong crowd in the streets of EDSA to help convince the service commanders to join.

Arroyo and Singson's camp also had a Plan B that included having elements of the military strike the initial blow by withdrawing from the government, to be followed by other groups such as the Philippine Military Academy graduates from Class '71, Class '72, etc. Moreover, they had a bloody "back-up strike force" given the orders to shoot against every place in Metro Manila and the provinces where Estrada forces will resist. It is herein seen that the unseen hand that directed the propaganda and political machinations against Estrada had a heartless determination to grab power. For all the illusions of the EDSA 2 people, it has become apparent that they had simply served as pawn to overthrow a very popularly elected leader. Worse, the EDSA "People Power" principle of a peaceful revolutionary change in government was in no way a consideration for the elitist elements who never respected the millions of masa (lower-class) votes received by Estrada.

Concededly, though, idealistic elements were present in the civilian support of EDSA 2. No less than members of the youth and the academic community lend some dignity to the rebellious occasion. It is even safe to state that the country's premiere university, the University of the Philippines, attended in majority force. It is just so sad that for all their intelligence and patriotic aspirations, the more honorable of the EDSA 2 civilians had been, well, had. Conned by political opportunists and elitist elements who envision democracy to work according to their convenience, they prejudged Estrada as guilty without the benefit of a fair and complete trial. The seemingly possessed EDSA 2 mob then dropped half their principles and acted in a Machiavellian fashion to taunt, jeer and malign Estrada. The climax came rather swiftly as the threat of the lynching mob--foolhardily ignorant of the putschists' machinations--was conveniently used to negotiate Estrada's departure from Malacanang. Aided by the seditious "party" animal, then Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide, and failing to smell the odor of the wicked wolf in their midst, the pathetically jubilant mob then foolishly handed the Presidency to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in a silver but tainted platter.

Revolution towards Greater Hunger and Corruption

It is most ironic that the 'Oust Estrada' campaign rode on the wings of anti-corruption and moral recovery promises but ended up driving the country into probably unprecedented post-war levels of misery, a corruption and immorality.



2007 was particularly a year of ignominy for Arroyo on several counts. Despite her proud but dubious claims of steering the country into economic stability, a Social Weather Station survey study shows that the level of total hunger hit its highest last year--the second time in her administration. Another 2007 survey, this time by Pulse Asia, betrays how Filipinos consider themselves and their countrymen worse off now than some years back ago.

It is in the area of morality, however, that Gloria Arroyo received the worst disgrace of her political life. The October 2007 Pulse Asia nationwide survey on corruption revealed how Filipinos view her as the "Most Corrupt President in Philippine History." The survey results prove particularly embarrassing not only for Arroyo but, perhaps, also for those responsible for her unconstitutional ascent into the Presidency because she even beat Guinness-holder Ferdinand Marcos for the inglorious title. Estrada, who has faced the politically-suspect Plunder charges and seven years of consistent demonizing by the Arroyo administration and elitist camps, placed only third in the list. What had made Gloria Arroyo top the "Most Corrupt" list is nothing else but a long litany of corruption issues that began soon after the EDSA 2 "People Power" gave her the reigns of illicit power.

Mea culpa

A number of personalities and participants of EDSA 2 have already admitted to the mistake, nay stupidity(?), of the Estrada ouster. Prominent among them is former President Corazon Aquino. While admission and penance may not necessarily bring back the constitutional order of the government, nor undo the defamation of Estrada, nor perhaps the lives of those who died by hunger or poverty-related suicide due to corruption of public funds, nor return the lost honor of the Supreme Court, it is a step in right direction. The zeal for change may sometimes override sobriety and foresight, and lead people to stupid decisions. Let EDSA 2, then, be a bitter blunder to rectify because otherwise, the nation as a whole will suffer worse.

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