The Philippine Online Chronicles

Barely 12 weeks to go and it’s E-day! Election Day, I mean.

And the more the days pass by, the more I continue to have this nagging and jittery feeling about 2010 that I just could not shake off.  No, this is not the effect of watching 2012 or catching up with whatever news I can given my very busy schedule. I am not just referring to the coming automated elections. I am talking about something bigger than the elections. It is something sinister and evil creeping up on us slowly and surely, that is—if we let it. Am I being paranoid?

Someone once said that history repeats itself—first as a tragedy, second as a farce.  If I could point to that day when history repeated itself as a farce, it would be the day Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) became President, installed by a second People Power. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret participating in People Power II to rid us of Erap—I was there! Constitutionally, GMA was it. With her background in economics and her then reputation for being a workaholic, she seemed to a better alternative to Erap. GMA certainly was more than what we bargained for, yet I was not completely happy that dayshe was installed as President of the Republic. Who among the participants in that ecstatic and hopeful EDSA 2 crowd would have foreseen that she would turn into one of our most hated Presidents?

Unlike the late President Cory Aquino who graciously stepped down from office after her term was over, GMA has shown, at every turn, her tenacity to stay in power. Instead of admitting defeat to her political opponent FPJ, she allegedly resorted to cheating in the 2004 national elections. The confluence of events that followed confirm this in my mind—in the court of public opinion, if not the real one.  First were the infamous Garci tapes (Noynoy voted against listening and publicly the tape to the public), second were the election boxes discovered at the Ampatuan mansion, and third is the unlikelihood of getting a zero vote for FPJ in Mindanao where there have been cases of people known to shoot at the movie screen when onscreen bad guys so much as attempt to lay a finger on their hero.

GMA’s actuations while in office have not done much to allay fears that she has no plans of stepping down. Remember her promise not to seek election for the presidency six years ago? During her stay, whatever achievements she may have under her belt have been surpassed by her systematic moves to amass power while undermining our democratic institutions with impunity. What Marcos has achieved in an openly repressive regime, GMA was able to do in the auspices of a “democratic” one. GMA’s family and her favoured ones can be likened to Marcos and cronies who amassed vast wealth during their stay in office. Recall the issues with her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN), those undisclosed properties, the wealth and bank accounts amassed by members of her family, to name but a few lingering questions. You can say GMA has perfected what the Marcoses did before her to a tee—she has surrounded herself with loyal followers in key government positions from the cabinet (many times appointing loyal generals in plum posts instead of a seasoned expert from within the ranks of a department, for instance) and constitutional bodies, and the local government (many local officials belong to the administration party). She is extending her political clout in the judiciary, with most of the Justices of the Supreme Court as her appointees.  Her appointments alone could ensure that she would get off the hook after her term ends. Her tenure has seen its lion’s share of controversies from botched attempts to amend the Constitution to extend her term, fertilizer scams, ZTE, and a blood bath in Maguindanao, to name a few.  The latest addition to this not-so-hidden-desire to hang on to power is her filing of a certificate of candidacy as Congresswoman of the second district of Pampanga. And today, it is clear in the headlines—“Lakas to field GMA as bet for Speaker”. Need I expound?

That GMA is still President after all these controversies is not by chance. This is a well-planned and well-executed conspiracy to continue a corrupt and illegitimate government. It is a plan that we must foil.

That Comelec—under GMA’s administration is lagging behind its schedules in all aspects of this automated elections—is something to really mull about and to be vigilant about. A failure of election would mean that she would still be the leader of the country. Another grand scheme?

Every one of us can prevent doomsday—the day when Arroyo manages to maintain her stranglehold on power—from happening.  For one, we can keep ourselves informed. Let us not fall into the traps of complacency, or worse, cynicism or indifference. Let’s vote in the upcoming elections. If we get enough local officials from outside the current ruling party elected to office, we can at least make sure Arroyo will not be able to control Congress in case she wins and derail the elected president’s legislative agenda. We each can contribute in our own unique way.

To borrow from the words of one Hollywood flick—we are at a precipice.  We either seize the moment or let it go, to our great detriment.  Doomsday is not inevitable for those who keep fighting.

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