Gloria’s “Kiss of Death”

PerryScope
By Perry Diaz

“The President will support those who will continue her vision and those who have a proven track record in being the leader regardless of who he or she maybe as this point in time," announced Press Secretary Cerge Remonde. He also said that “Malacañang may look at the possibility of adopting Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio as its standard bearer in the 2010 presidential elections.” The question that comes to mind is: If “vision” and “leadership” is what President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were looking for in a presidential candidate, what is her vision and what kind of a leader is she?

Let’s look at her “vision.” She declared a couple of years ago that she wanted the Philippines to be a “first world” country in 20 years -- an “Enchanted Kingdom.” She promised to eradicate poverty, stamp out corruption, and put an end to the communist insurgency and Islamic rebellion.

Since then, the Philippines has become the most corrupt country in Asia and Gloria the most corrupt president in the country’s history. Instead of progressing and moving forward, the country is retrogressing and moving backward. All the gains she proclaimed a few years ago are vanishing. The rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. The country is going upside down… fast.

If there is one element that can be attributed to Gloria’s failure, it’s her lack of leadership. She had the opportunity to make a difference when she was catapulted by “people power” to the presidency in 2001. But instead of uplifting the people from the ravages of poverty and leading them to the promised “Enchanted Kingdom” in the First World, she led them on the road to eternal perdition in the World of the Damned.

And now that the end of her presidency is near, she is looking for a way to stay in power any which way she can. Indeed, there are several ways that she could hold on to power. However, they’re risky to undertake. She has to line up all the ducks in perfect formation. If one duck goes out of formation, the rest will be quacking their way out in all directions.

Recently, former Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. revealed that he was approached by Gloria’s son, Congressman Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, and Congressman Martin Romualdez with an “indecent proposal.” De Venecia said that the two tried to solicit his support for Charter change (Cha-cha) in exchange for the Speakership. He told the media, “I turned down the request for me to help because they are not telling the Filipino people the truth.” He believes that the real reason for Cha-cha is to extend Gloria’s term.

At this time, the proponents of Cha-cha in the House of Representatives have about 180 supporters, about 17 shy of the 197 votes needed to convene a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass). However, even if they would get the votes in the House, a strong resistance from the Senate was expected. In that event, the Supreme Court would have to step in to resolve the issue which many people believe would be favorable to Gloria.

But time is running out for Gloria to pursue Cha-cha. She might tinker with the idea of declaring martial law and then nudge Congress to amend the constitution to change the form of government to parliamentary system. Wasn’t that what Marcos did when he declared martial law in 1972?

Should Gloria decide to go ahead with martial law, she needs the support of the military. However, Gen. Alexander Yano, the current Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is perceived as a “straight shooter” and the epitome of professional soldier. Many political insiders believe that he would not support martial law. And without the support of the military top brass, Gloria has to look at other ways to stay in power.

If Gloria fails to extend her term of office, then she might take the role of “kingmaker” by using all her political resources and personal wealth to underwrite the campaign of her handpicked candidate or “manok.” With the new president indebted to her, she could wield enormous political -- and economic -- power working behind the scenes. It would be business as usual.

Lately, the person who is emerging as Gloria’s possible choice for president is Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, a young and bright politician with the right credentials: a bar topnotch, a former Congressman, a member of a rich and powerful clan, and the heir apparent to his uncle Danding Cojuangco’s Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC). But it is for his credentials that would make Gloria wary of Teodoro. While Cojuangco is currently in the best of terms with Gloria and her husband Mike, that could easily change. Didn’t someone once say, “There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, only permanent self-interest”?

The question is: Can Gloria control Teodoro should he become president? My take is that Teodoro would not allow himself to be the “manok” of Gloria. More than likely, he would run as the standard bearer of NPC, not under Gloria’s KAMPI-Lakas coalition. The reason is: Gloria’s endorsement is tantamount to a “kiss of death.” With Gloria’s unpopularity with the people, the candidate she handpicks would most likely lose unless she would use the “tools” at her disposal like what she allegedly used during the 2004 presidential election. With the brand-new Comelec automated election system to be implemented in the 2010 elections, who knows what “glitches” the system would have that could change the election results.

It is not then surprising when Gloria’s spin doctors put out the “welcome” mat for Panlilio’s possible entry into the presidential derby. Why not? After all, Panlilio is Gloria’s province mate or “kabalen.” However, Panlilio immediately nipped it in the bud. The last thing he wanted to happen is to create the impression that he shares Gloria’s “vision” and “leadership style.”

In a recent media statement, Panlilio said that if and when elected president of the Philippines in 2010, he “will not declare the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos a hero and will see to it that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is prosecuted for corruption.” With that, Panlilio had distanced himself from getting smacked with Gloria’s “kiss of death.”