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Sunday, March 05, 2006
Cariño: Still watching Gloria
By Linda Grace Cariño
IT IS as the granddaughter of the founder of the Liberal Party in Baguio (Doctor Jose M. Carino, Baguio mayor from 1946 until sometime in 1950 when he suffered a stroke and the good then Vice Mayor Tita Gene de Guia ascended to the mayoralty to finish the term) and the daughter of two of the party stalwarts (Atty. Andy, city councilor in the 1960s, and Ruby) that I find interest in party goings-on. So it was with said interest piqued that I took in the news last Thursday that Senator Frank Drilon had been ousted as LP president.
The news clip indicated that a general assembly of the party had been held that day. There, a move to declare all seats vacant was made by Ms. Sally Zaldivar-Reyes (one of Ruby's countless amigas and sorority sister), and elections were held. Elected party president was Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and elected chairman was Secretary Mike Defensor, someone my youngest sister Annette counts as a buddy.
As scripted into the news clip and obviously on cue, in sailed a smiling PGMA after the election, there for the induction of new party officers. And of course, the smile was triumphant. She was a victor on home ground, her father having been a party leader when he was alive. Oh, did we forget he was president of the republic, too?
Chito Gascon, who was there to represent Senator Drilon, was shown vehemently protesting proceedings as "unconstitutional." Mayor Atienza, was interviewed, and said everything was "legal". Even while Senator Drilon continues to protest the assembly and the election, it certainly seems that the party leadership has changed.
Of course the battle will continue for some time. Such is the way of politics. But for now, Senator Drilon is stumped.
The day after the LP move, PGMA lifted controversial Presidential Proclamation 1017. As our friend Atty. Harry Roque has ably pointed out, her lifting the proclamation makes it moot. But he, Marvic (Atty. Leonen), their supporters at the UP College of Law, et. al. will still push for a Supreme Court ruling that will, in Harry's words, "educate both bar and bench." Thank heavens for people like these, relentless in their crusade for justice.
But for the moment, our tiny woman of a president has yet again scored tactically, and yet again, I cannot help but be impressed with her political acumen. Like her or not, she's quite a show, is PGMA.
(March 5, 2006 issue)
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