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Saturday, July 09, 2005
Nalzaro: Pot calling the kettle black
By Bobby Nalzaro
When this column was written, all eyes were on beleaguered President Arroyo following the resignation of some of her Cabinet members. The move followed the President’s call for Cabinet members to tender their courtesy resignations as part of drastic reform measures she is planning to institute to save her administration from collapse.
The resignations were, indeed, a big blow to the Arroyo presidency. The opposition and her detractors could use these to gain the people’s support for actions designed to oust her from office. But so far, Arroyo has not been deterred by recent developments. Majority of the members of her Cabinet have remained loyal to her.
I think the resigned Cabinet members merely wanted to preempt the President’s plan to axe them in a revamp. They did not want to go down without shaking the Arroyo administration. That, I would say, was the highest form of sabotage. They were ungrateful.
I don't know what the future of our country will be if the political crisis continues. Abangan.
***
The brouhaha over the “Garci tapes” is a classic example of a pot calling the kettle black. The opposition and Arroyo's critics insisted that she was guilty of impropriety or committed an illegal act for talking with a high Comelec official during the counting of the votes in last year's presidential election.
But look whose talking. If President Arroyo was guilty of wrongdoing by conversing with then Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, what about opposition personalities who did the same? They also reportedly called Garcillano during the canvassing of the votes.
Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile was honest enough to admit he talked with some Comelec commissioners and even with Chairman Benjamin Abalos to call their attention on possible electoral fraud committed by other candidates. But the senator, a veteran legislator and lawyer, insisted he did not violate any law for doing so.
The other personalities who reportedly talked with Garcillano but were not included in the bugged telephone conversations were opposition vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda, then senatorial bets Mar Roxas, Jamby Madrigal, Ernesto Maceda, Jinggoy Estrada and Sonny Osmeña and opposition spokesman Francis Escudero.
I think the opposition should stop insisting that President Arroyo committed an illegal act and should therefore resign. This is because they, too, are guilty of the same infraction. At least, the President was courageous and brave enough to admit what he did by claiming it was a “lapse in judgment.”
(bobby@sunstar.com.ph/0919-3181404)
(July 9, 2005 issue)
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