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Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Editorial: Was it a change of mind?
Reactions to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s admission last Saturday that, yes, she is gunning for a full term in the 2004 elections, have been immediate and varied. But some points should have been clarified first.
There is, say, the matter of whether one should consider the President’s decision as a turnaround or not. This is important in weighing the kind of “sin” she committed for saying she is running when she already announced on Rizal Day that she wouldn’t.
Or to put it in another way, was it a case of “lying” or just a matter of “change of mind”? Surely, the greater sin would be in the former, not in the latter.
It is admittedly very difficult to divine what was in Mrs. Arroyo’s heart and mind on Dec. 30 and last Saturday. Besides, we are not part of the President’s inner circle and thus were not privy to the plans they hatched.
But there are easily observable points that can guide us in making conclusions.
The “lying” accusation is based on the belief that Mrs. Arroyo and her spin-doctors merely used the Rizal Day announcement as part of their strategy in getting the presidency in 2004. Meaning, it was never an honest commitment in the first place.
The “change of mind” angle is anchored on the thinking that the President, after weighing the situation then, was sincere in her Dec. 30 decision not to run and, after weighing the situation now, was also sincere in her recent decision to run.
But let us consider just a few points.
When the President made the Rizal Day announcement, her popularity rating was low, pulled down not only by problems in peace and order and the economy but also by the constant sniping from the political opposition.
She desperately needed to act fast to arrest the slide.
By claiming she was no longer running, she forced the opposition to stop the muckraking (what would the people say if they continue attacking a “non-candidate”?). And she gained ‘ganda’ points from a public fed up with the politicking of politicians.
There wouldn’t have been much of a problem there had the President started acting like she was really a non-candidate after that. But as months passed, it became obvious she was still politicking, both in her moves and decisions.
This was the reason the belief that she was running never faded despite the President’s insistence that her Dec. 30 promise stands. In this sense, one can say that her decision to run was not really a “change of mind.”
There the cops go again
The killing of a suspected robber and the wounding of a policeman during a “shootout” have once again raised questions about the knowledge of Cebu City policemen on the basics of police work.
For one, there was the shooting to death of suspect Vicente Frasco, who was reportedly armed “only” with a .357 revolver that had “only” three bullets. Then there was the claim that the bullet that hit PO2 Greg Banaag actually came from the gun of a fellow policeman.
Sounds familiar, indeed, and frustrating.
(October 7, 2003 issue)
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