From the very beginning nobody thought the most recent impeachment complaint against President Arroyo will ever reach second base. That makes OA the ranting of the political opposition against the junking of the complaint by the House justice committee yesterday. The failure is expected, so being dramatic in one’s reaction is to be theatrical.

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The irony there is that the most well-prepared impeachment complaint was also, for Arroyo partisans, the easiest to drop. That proves the political nature of the exercise. It’s not about the evidence presented but about control of the House of Representatives, which tackles impeachment complaints, and the capacity to gather enough public support.

The political opposition fell short on both counts this year. Despite the ouster of Jose de Venecia from his perch as Speaker, or perhaps because of it, Ms. Arroyo retained overwhelming control of the House. And despite claims that this president is the most hated of all time, people have continued to shun the streets to protest the sham process.

This is the fourth impeachment complaint filed by the political opposition against Ms. Arroyo, meaning, the spectacle has been repeated every year since 2005. This has therefore become an annual ritual that the country’s politics can seemingly not do without until the President’s term is used up in 2010. There’s still time next year, then that’s it.

This means that the window of opportunity for the political opposition, civil society groups and other forces working for the ouster of Ms. Arroyo is closing. More so because in 2009, the focus of ambitious personalities identified with the political opposition will be on how to gain advantage in the campaign for the presidency in 2010.

One consolation for those whose hatred for Ms. Arroyo is seething is that the failure to oust her from the presidency does not mean the people don’t know the real nature of this administration. It does not mean they don’t believe that corruption and abuse of power are not being committed in both high and low places in the bureaucracy.

Surveys initiated ever so often that show Ms. Arroyo’s popularity hitting rock bottom are proof enough that, unlike what some groups claim, the people know the “truth” about the issues hurled at Malacañang. It’s just that the people may not have agreed with the moves of anti-Arroyo leaders or are suspicious of their motives.

Having said that, I think the real battleground will now be the 2010 elections.
(khanwens@yahoo.com/ my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)

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(November 27, 2008 issue)
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