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Sunday, March 05, 2006
Relief, disquiet in 1017's wake
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited a market in Manila Saturday in an apparent effort to project an image of calm after lifting a state of national emergency.
"Overall, aside from the people who can no longer see the good things in this country, people who are the usual nags and complainers, all is well and the response of the economy is good," said Government Media Group Secretary Cerge Remonde.
But while analysts do expect investor confidence to revive next week, with the end of Proclamation 1017, not everyone is buying the administration's message that all is well.
An opposition senator warned that the ongoing investigation on an alleged coup plot is out to target former President Corazon Aquino.
And five party-list lawmakers remained stuck inside the Batasan Pambansa complex, awaiting a guarantee from Malacañang that they will not be subjected to warrantless arrests.
After Proclamation 1017 was lifted, leaders of various sectors visited Malacañang Friday night to hail Arroyo's decision, Remonde said.
Remonde, a former Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas president, added that complaints about government's decision to keep monitoring media outlets "come from people who are paranoid."
They need to understand "that it is a usual and ordinary act" of a responsible government to monitor media outlets, Remonde added.
Arroyo withdrew last Friday the week-old decree that she said was needed to thwart an alleged coup plot involving rebel soldiers, communist guerrillas, and opposition politicians.
The state of emergency banned rallies, allowed arrests without warrants, permitted the President to call in the military to intervene and was invoked in the raid on a Manila broadsheet's office.
On the same day the emergency was lifted, government filed charges of incitement to sedition against newspaper publisher Ninez Cacho-Olivares and two of her columnists, for their attacks on Arroyo.
The charges were filed against Olivares, publisher of the Daily Tribune, and columnists Ike Seneres and Herman Tiu-Laurel, the newspaper reported on its front page Saturday.
Real target?
Justice department officials confirmed that charges of incitement to sedition were filed against officials of the Tribune, but would not give details.
The administration posted policemen at the Tribune last week, hours after Arroyo declared a state of national emergency.
More than a dozen opposition figures are still being hunted for their alleged role in the plot.
Aquino was "the real target" when the administration tried to link her brother, former Tarlac congressman Jose Cojuangco Jr., and his associate, businessman Pastor Saycon, to the alleged coup plot against the Arroyo administration, an opposition lawmaker said.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. said the administration wants to portray Aquino as a key player in the coup and possibly to initiate charges against her.
"Perhaps by linking her to the coup, the administration thinks it may cow Mrs. Aquino into giving up her efforts to persuade President Arroyo to step down," Pimentel said.
Both Cojuangco and Saycon have categorically denied any involvement in the coup.
About Time
A Time Magazine report said that Saycon -- during a gathering of "more than a dozen businessmen and middle-level public officials on the evening of February 23" -- called up a person code-named "Delta" (later identified as Brigadier General Danilo Lim of the First Scouts Ranger Regiment) to inquire about the coup.
Cojuangco and Saycon, however, said that while there was a gathering at the Cojuangco residence, they were only preparing for their participation in the 20th anniversary of Edsa revolt.
Remonde, for his part, dismissed accusations that the Arroyo administration is out to get former president Aquino.
The information about Cojuangco "was not from us. It came from a highly respected journalist who became an eyewitness," Remonde said in an interview Saturday night.
He also said that Time Asia correspondent Nelly Sindayen, who witnessed the meeting in Cojuangco's house, will submit a formal statement to the justice department next week.
Stable, strong
Also next week, analysts expect Philippine share prices to bounce back.
"The lifting of the state of emergency should further boost investor confidence, as it suggests that the security situation is now stable. The market is also convinced that the economic fundamentals remain strong," said Astro del Castillo of First Grade Holdings.
"Corporate reports are still expected to come out next week. Hopefully, that will still give the market some direction," said Oliver Plana of Asiasec Equities.
President Arroyo's decision to lift Proclamation 1017 "will improve confidence in the country," said Jovis Vistan of AB Capital, remarking that the peso had strengthened in reaction to the lifting of the emergency.
But while he hailed the lifting of the emergency declaration, former President Fidel Ramos also warned that the situation has not stabilized and that the threat against the administration remains.
A key Arroyo backer, Ramos had criticized the state of emergency and later said his support for President Arroyo has been "waning and waning."
Uncertain
Calls for Arroyo's resignation have centered on accusations of vote-rigging in the 2004 election, as well as corruption-accusations she has denied.
Arroyo has warned she will use her powers "no matter how many times," if moves to oust her persist.
Last week's crisis showed President Arroyo does not command complete loyalty among some top military commanders, as well as junior officers who were involved in a mutiny in 2003, said Benito Lim, a political science professor at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University.
"It's very clear that the military does not support her and there are people in the top commands that do not like her," he said.
Lim predicted that opposition to Arroyo would continue.
"The opposition feel they should continue to strike because this will weaken her (Arroyo) all the more, so we will have continuous political turmoil," he said. "It will not be a peaceful year for all of us." (Sunnex, AP, AFP/With AIV of Sun.Star Cebu)
(March 5, 2006 issue)
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