Dire possibilities
A declaration of emergency rule is in the air. She tried it
once but was rebuffed by the Supreme Court whose members are now more aware of
their duty to defend the Constitution.
So, if she issues a proclamation similar to 1017 or some such
declaration that has the effect of martial law, the Court will junk it again.
That assumption is based on the fact that the President will
continue to be the official head of state.
Is she hands over power to the military, the Supreme Court
will practically disappear or be left inutile.
The Court fights with law. The military uses firearms.
We have another Myanmar in the making. And we do not have a
Suu Kyi to fight the junta.
They might call it a civilian-military junta. That form of
government does not exist. A government is either civil (sometimes evil) or
military. If it is civilian-military, the first is a decoration.
Whose EDSA is it?
The weird part of the celebration Monday of people power
revolution was that it happened in several places. It was a clear sign of how
deeply the nation has been divided, probably between good and evil.
The atmosphere of the occasion recalls the first People Power
revolution led by the President Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile. That revolution
restored democracy but did not exactly improve the lives of the poor.
President Arroyo skipped the Monday celebration allegedly
because of reports of danger to her person.
The bigger thing to ponder is Gloria Arroyo cannot recall or
celebrate the second EDSA that brought her to power.
She promised to stamp out corruption. Now she is perceived as
the most corrupt president. The Philippines is the most corrupt country.
Her EDSA is killing democracy, what with the disappearance of
about 800 people during her seven-year reign. There are two more years to go.
The first EDSA stopped human rights violations. The second
EDSA of Gloria Arroyo restored it with vengeance.
Treason is unpardonable
Of course, GMA can draw comfort from the fact that a sitting
president is immune from suit. But then, suppose she is forced to reign? I do
not think she will. She would rather hand over power to the military.
Her term expires in 2010. She can be tried for treason. The
Constitution says no president shall pardon anybody found guilty of treason. GMA
stays in jail after conviction.
But it is precisely because of this fear that she might hand
over power to the military.
There will be no election in 2010. Which means that President
Arroyo may not be tried because beyond 2010, she remains president, although a
puppet of the military.
I heard that Malacañang is sounding out ambassadors posted
here on what they think of a state of emergency which is a polite term for
military rule. The Palace will not get a reply until the envoys have consulted
their home governments. I do not think any of them, except Myanmar, will agree.
Bribes for territorial waters
It now appears that China and its state-owned as well as
private companies have a sinister design in granting money and overpriced
contracts to the regime of Gloria Arroyo.
I never wondered aloud why she insisted or at least allowed
loans instead of BOT projects from China, the latter being superior because it
saves country a lot of money and the projects are implemented according to the
specs. No bribes, no overprice.
She chose loans clearly because there was too much money to
make from them. There is hardly anything to be made from BOT or official
development assistance.
It now turns out that China laid a trap for the Philippines.
In exchange for dirty money, China exacted a commitment and probably got that
the Arroyo regime would sign an agreement for the exploration of Philippine
waters.
The agreement should be in the form of treaty. The Senate
will have to ratify it. An executive agreement might bring it to court where I
say it will be junked.
How then, is the Arroyo government or regime, going to return
the kickbacks? This is another bomb waiting to explode in the face of the
President. She will never be able to get away with it.
Self-admitted impeachable
crime
It appears that the President is no longer in her proper
senses. I cannot see any reason why she declared and admitted that before she
went to China to witness the signing of the ZTE deal, she knew the contract was
anomalous.
This statement is a direct contradiction of what she said,
that no member of her family is involved in the anomaly. But just the same she
ordered an investigation.
Public admission of an offense by a president is reason for a
country to destroy its government, according to Abraham Lincoln in his first
inaugural address in 1861.
The admission is direct evidence that should lead to her
impeachment. But then she has the congressman by the balls.
She will not be impeached. Nor will she resign. That makes
the military-rule option a dire possibility.
Examine the statements of the AFP chief of staff. They have a
meaning that may surprise us in the coming weeks. President Arroyo may deliver
the country into the hands of the military so she can stay in power as a pawn.
She has to do that to escape the hangman’s noose.
The President is in a bind.
