SENATOR AQUILINO PIMENTEL, JR., SENATOR ANTONIO F. TRILLANES IV, FORMER SENATOR SERGE OSMENA, BISHOP LEO ALCONGA, PASTOR DOMENG RIVERA, LT. GEN. RAUL URGELLO, LT. GEN. ROMEO DOMINGUEZ, ATTY. JOSEFINA LICHAUCO, ATTY. RAMON PEDROSA, ATTY. LUIS SISON, AMBASSADOR ROY SENERES, MARIETTA PRIMICIAS GOCO, RENATO CONSTANTINO, JR., AMADO MACASAET, CONRADO DE QUIROS, ELLEN TORDESILLAS, CHARMAINE DEOGRACIAS, ARMIDA SIGUION-REYNA, BIBETH ORTEZA, BUTCH ALBERT, BENJAMIN CO, PASTOR BOY SAYCON, ATTY. HARRY ROQUE.
These are just some of the people who want Arroyo and De Castro out and have snap elections held within 60 days.
I think it’s pretty damn obvious everyone hates PGMA and that her sadist antics as a cheater and a thief should be stopped. Unfortunately, the opposition isn’t doing too good these days, seeing as their supplement to Suplico’s impeachment complaint has been rejected as early as Tuesday morning. What were they expecting, that the administration-rich House of Representatives would have a sudden change of hearts and let their case come through? I have to hand it to the administration guys though, they have sharp thinkers over to their side. If they weren’t the bad guys in Philippine politics, the weak impeachment complaint they thought of to protect their queen is absolutely ingenius. Not to mention the bribes they put out for the 190 Congressmen to endorse the case, is a classic. They know what to give because they understand what elevated levels of greed these politicians have, plus they know when to hand it out. Let’s face it, the Arroyo administration is too well-oiled for even the most honest men to crack down. In the coming days, democracy might have gone off the window in this country. By then, welcome Gloria-land.
Although not everyone from the ‘ALL-STAR OPPOSITION’ ticket is in it, the good thing about it is that not everyone who initiated the petition is in politics. It shows that even journalists, lawyers, bishops or just ordinary concerned citizens can make a stand, unite and do something for everyone’s good.
The idea behind this online petition is noble but being realistic, how would this petition help in PGMA and De Castro’s resignation? If I remember it correctly, the signature campaign launched a couple of years back, having the same purpose, was rejected due to it being ‘unconstitutional’. So would this one make any difference?
The objections to my proposal were: one, it would present no end of legal tangles; and, two, the question of “succession” should be debated only after Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was gone. The point was how she might be made to go.
The first by no means presents an insurmountable problem. It’s not only that in this country where there’s a will there’s a way — and correspondingly, as shown by Congress and impeachment, where there’s no will there’s no way — it’s also that in this country where there’s a way there’s a will. Nothing shows that better than Arroyo. The fact that Joseph Estrada was an elected president, and the most popularly elected president at that, did not pose a problem to the Supreme Court when he was ousted by People Power. And rightly so: The law is nothing more or less than the expression of the people’s will. Where that will is manifested directly and clearly, it overrules the statutes written in parchment. Where a universal, or a near-universal, demand for a snap election is made by the people, it becomes law. Or more to the point, it commands a law to come forth in support of it. Chief Justice Hilario Davide had no problem finding one to proclaim Arroyo as Estrada’s successor.
The second objection merely shows lack of imagination. A snap election is not something you should think about only after you have formulated a strategy to oust a usurper, it should be the very core of your strategy to oust a usurper. True enough, a snap election can happen only after a usurper is ousted, but the call for a snap election can, and should, happen to oust a usurper. If it is a popular call, and there is no reason why it shouldn’t be if made the object of a campaign, complete with the call for civil disobedience if left unheeded, then it becomes the very instrument to pry loose the fingers of someone clinging unlawfully, unreasonably, indeed madly, to the throne. Snap elections are not an afterthought, they are an aforethought.
In times like this, I look back on The Devil’s Advocate and see how much of that non-fiction work proves true for this country: if the law and the lawyers make the devil’s work easier in that movie, in this side of the world, politics and PGMA take the load off from the devil. It’s like the devil rests when he’s got PGMA manning the show around for him.
5 Comments
November 8, 2007 at 2:20 am
it’s sad to say, but nothing will come out of this petition. even if the peasants and the poor rally around it, it will fail. to be successful, it needs the financial support of the elite and the imprimatur of the church leaders. since they are beholden to pgma, the petitioners won’t be able to depend on them. the elite and the church leaders are pigs feeding at the trough of malacañang.
November 8, 2007 at 5:10 am
plaridel:
actually, the middle class is behind this petition. but hey, being positive doesn’t hurt. =)
thanks for dropping by!
November 12, 2007 at 6:31 am
[...] after that, politicians and concerned citizens made a call to PGMA and VP De Castro to resign and have snap elec…. They made an online petition to gather up signatures to back their campaign but I haven’t [...]
March 10, 2008 at 9:53 am
let’s just wait..2 years is just 2 years, we will only complicate things if we would ask both of them to resign.. besides, arroyo won’t cause much harm, even if she’s a bit evil (all presidents are) she still have a heart to the country’s economy,people and welfare…that’s a good thing to note=)
March 11, 2008 at 11:52 am
tahm:
i dont think she’s a tad evil though. haha.