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Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Pooled editorial: Who are hurting in this conflict?
After having failed with other strategies to oust President Gloria Arroyo, the opposition has come up with a new tack: snap election.
Impeachment failed. So have street protests, charges of corruption and abuse, rumors of military uprising, and calls for caretakers.
What makes the opposition think the snap election gambit will work?
Snap election is held only when a vacancy occurs, which means she resigns or dies or becomes incapacitated, or when the Constitution is amended.
Outside death or disability, the President’s agreement to cut short tenure by quitting or accepting a constitutional change is required.
She profits from the public mood against methods that violate the law or the Constitution in refusing an early exit.
If she did what the opposition accuses her of — stole the vote and used public and private resources to buy and keep her allies — why then must she now give up what she has fought for?
The opposition, to be sure, is not relying on any one option or strategy, and it is not necessarily being desperate. It is being resourceful, waging the war in all fronts.
An apparent theme in opposition sorties and attacks is to devalue presidential image and credibility until she just topples down, like the proud mountain that falls or the giant statue that collapses.
The President and her camp are not exactly relying on stock answers to issues, although repetitive cycle of charges and denials often benefits the accuser and maims the accused.
The Palace has been scrambling to retain a solid phalanx of allies, but some gaps are beginning to show. It has also been using broadsides, including the U.S. espionage scandal that led to the arrest of a Filipino fugitive linked to the President’s foes.
But take away the illegality of enemy methods, such as wiretapping and espionage, what remains? Polluted evidence yes, but rotten evidence can also poison the public mind.
The President might lose the war. There were small battles where she prevailed, but how long can she last the incessant battering?
We don’t know but the opposition, despite a lackluster leadership, has stubbornly continued the siege.
And who else are hurting from the protracted and long engagement of clashing forces?
Our country. Our people.
Ironically, both sides use “country and people” to justify the bitter and destructive fight for power.
Sun.Star Cebu
(October 26, 2005 issue)
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