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Sunday, July 03, 2005
Former President criticized for warning v. use of 'people power'
MANILA -- Former President Corazon 'Cory' Aquino's one-time spokesman criticized her Saturday for warning against using massive "people power" demonstrations to oust President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The first people power uprising unseated dictator Ferdinand Marcos and swept Aquino into office in 1986.
She was a leader of the second such movement, which forced then-president Joseph Estrada to step down in 2001.
Arroyo, then Estrada's vice president, took over. She won her own six-year term in the May 2004 election, which opposition groups claim she rigged.
Amid growing calls for Arroyo to step down--and warnings that she may end up like Marcos and Estrada--Aquino on Thursday urged Filipinos not to resort to unconstitutional measures, and warned that "people power for one's self will never succeed."
But Aquino's former presidential spokesman, Horacio "Ducky" Paredes, harshly criticized her remarks.
"Respect for the Constitution was the last thing that was in Cory Aquino's mind and... those of her co-conspirators in 2001," Paredes said.
"The Constitution, for the evil society, is a piece of soiled toilet paper when others want to use it for themselves against the abuses of the powerful," Paredes wrote in his newspaper column.
"But, when the Constitution is convenient to protect or promote their self-interest, Cory and her mob will use it as a shield against the world."
Aquino made the warning after speaking with Susan Roces, the outspoken widow of Fernando Poe Jr., Arroyo's main challenger last year.
In a fiery speech, Roces had accused Arroyo of stealing the presidency.
Roces stopped short of saying she will start people power protests--but suggested she'd support them.
A left wing fishermen's group, Pamalakaya, said Aquino was "not invited to join the next people power."
"Another popular uprising is looming on the horizon," the group said in a statement.
"Ms. Aquino cannot stop the unfolding events that would end the corrupt and brutal political career of Mrs. Arroyo."
Allegations of vote-rigging resurfaced three weeks ago with the emergence of wiretapped conversations between Arroyo and an election official, in which the president allegedly sought assurance she would win by more than a million votes.
Arroyo broke her silence in the issue Monday, admitting she spoke with an election official before the vote count was completed, and apologized in a nationally televised speech for the "lapse in judgment."
She said she'd only wanted to protect her votes, and denied manipulating the election's outcome. She also rejected demands for her resignation. (Sunnex)
Click here for a chronology of the crisis.
Click here for the transcript of Arroyo's confession.
(July 3, 2005 issue)
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