What Justice Artemio Panganiban wrote today over at the Philippine Daily Inquirer (titled “Cha-cha, Martial Law and Holdover”) about the imminent dangers that we face today merits our attention. He says that despite what some KAMPI stalwarts are saying, (especially Rep. Villafuerte) that there’s no more time for cha-cha, many KAMPI congressmen led by presidential son Mikey Arroyo are still insisting that Speaker Prospero Nograles allow debates to continue even up to June 6. Nograles already said that even if Congress manage to put these cha-cha proposals under vote, implementation will still be problematic, given that it’ll only be eleven months before the 2010 elections.
Hence, there is that possibility, says Panganiban, that Malacanang is cooking up something in June, possibly martial rule. The former Supreme Court justice said that AFP Chief of Staff Alex Yano will be retiring that month, to be replaced by palace factotum, Bangit. With a close Arroyo friend at the helm of the Armed Forces, and given that by that time, violence and war would have heightened in Mindanao, there is that chance that conditions would have ripen to justify it. At the very least, Malacanang would probably concoct a scenario where they’ll say that the war in Mindanao have spilled over the metropolis, justifying a State of Emergency and eventually martial rule. That way, Congress would vote for its extension beyond the 60 day limit as imposed by the Constitution. Within that period, Congress would have enough time to pass a charter change bill.
Another possibility is failure of elections. Panganiban surmised that the present automated system is still not that capable of ensuring what Palace Political Adviser Gabby Claudio as “clean and fair elections”. The possibility of having a failure of elections is there given that the OMR of the system remains untested against hacking. He cites an example where foreign hackers managed to mess up the DFA website. What if such a scenario happens and pandemonium breaks out? Surely, that will justify what National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales suggested as a “transition” government to be led by no less than his boss, Mrs. Arroyo. According to sources within the palace, this scenario aims to give Mrs. Arroyo two more years in Malacanang, in which time, it is hoped, the country would have voted for changes in the charter, leading to a parliamentary system. Mrs. Arroyo would run for a congressional seat and possibly take the Prime Ministership.
Such scenarios are not entirely far-fetched. Aside from what Panganiban wrote, let me add one more sign that support fears of a grand design being implemented right now. Recently, the PNP instituted an institutional revamp. That revamp led to members of PMA Class 1979 assuming higher leadership roles. That effectively eased out members of PMA Class 1978 from the race to the PNP top post. Talks are rife that a PMAer of Mrs. Arroyo’s favorite class, 1979, is set to assume even the PNP post. This is an on-going revamp which is even being seen in the AFP right now.
With the PMA Class 1979 at the helm of the military, Mrs. Arroyo is sure to get what she and her evil gangsters want and that is, an extension of her messy rule. Surely, Mrs. Arroyo would continue being the poster girl of these military bad eggs and would truly love staying that way. At 62 years old, Mrs. Arroyo still loves being a model, the most popular face of the most unpopular regime in the history of this country.
Popularity: 1% [?]
this is the kind of hogwash that should not see the light of day in print. i don’t care if the haka-haka is from panganiban or cardinal rosales. this is the favorite pastime of pinoys, whether great or obscure, i.e., conjure up dire scenarios just to get attention. so childish! i bet renato pacifico’s “pekeng peryodistas” will have a feast on this as usual as if it was a feat accompli.
nevertheless, i still don’t see any viable alternative to gma especially in this very difficult time.
bencard,
hogwash? yes, for those whose eyes are closed. for those who are so psychotic, they don’t want to accept reality. Justice Artemio Panganiban is a distinguished individual, the kind that researches his piece before writing it. I doubt if you could even write something like what he wrote.
Write something substantial next time and maybe you’ll be writing about how your gma was ousted by the people.
i would like to comment on the later part of his column, that of lagman’s argument against OCR. he writes of lagman’s complaint:
“The group claims that the automation system adopted by the Comelec, the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR), lacks transparency. The automated ballots are not counted at the polling places where people could watch the tallying. Instead, they are brought to counting centers where they are tallied internally and secretly by electronic machines. Only the final figures are shown and electronically sent to the canvassing centers.”
wow. holy lack-of-trust batman! i don’t think any place on earth with automated elections that count at the place where the elections are held.
automation requires a change of mindset. later, panganiban writes:
“… Lagman says that the OMR could “cause a failure of elections.” In which case, no candidate would be elected and President Arroyo could continue as hold over president. ”
wow. what does it take to cause a failure of elections? is the mere suspicion of election results enough to cause a failure?
if the mere counting votes is enough to cast a dark shadow on election results, then we are in trouble.
gabby_d,
in macoy’s time, that caused him his presidency. read your history. there’s basis for Panganiban’s fears. and yes, a failure of elections could happen if we fail to declare a winner in the presidential derby.
if panganiban is right, then how can automated elections work? the counting will be done in some centralized location, no? wala nang bilangan sa precinct level?
i wonder what it takes to call for a failure of elections. what proof is needed, given automation.
it really requires a change in mindset, that votes will no longer be counted at the precinct level.
nevertheless, i still don’t see any viable alternative to gma especially in this very difficult time. – bencard
Holy smoke bencard.. even a dog is a better alternative for a lying, corrupt, evil non-president.
armani, you have your opinion, i have mine. let’s not be too emotional about it, o.k.? you really think you’d prefer a “dog” as your president over gma? unless you’re a dog yourself, i don’t think so.
no, not being emotional at all…time of reckoning is near.
We have a very serious Al Queda insurgency in Mindanao. And, the
administration is still talking about CHA CHA. We are bored by
the issue. Can they find something better to amuse us?
well…tasio…just wait. they are cooking up something…an assault of the ASG…hoping for a safe recovery of the hostages. i hope they succeed in extricating these hostages safely.otherwise, this risky thing would explode right before their very faces.
now road repair and construction is in full swing in time for the coming election’s propaganda with giant billboards before and after the road on repair of a smirking arroyo proclaiming it’s her project.
what a bastard…
This Mikey Arroyo who is going around town like a raging bull shows how nervous the Arroyo family is of their imminent downfall come election day. He pushes on with cha-cha to avoid prosecution of the entire family, probably except Luli. He definitely is greedier than his father who is now slowly experiencing karma. I hope he succumbs to any one of his ailments as early as possible. One less evil on earth makes life better for Filipinos.
hey bencard. im sure you are under the graces of the arroyo administration or probably you are a lapdog of the arroyos.
jermenz,
let’s not be too harsh on bencard. he’s there in the US, maintaining the properties of the First Couple, especially that building which they acquired sometime in…..oppps! Sorry Bencard, ha. Binubuko kita, hehehehe!
Hey, Pat, totoo ba iyan? We castigated Renato Pacifico for making false innuendos, remember? Oh, joke lang siguro iyan, kasi tumatawa ka.
that explains it then Pat, thanks for the info.
bencard the loyal arroyo servant slash lapdog slash apologist slash defender.
all is crystal clear now.
that’s not a fair comment to make in any case.. actually, there are a lot of Filipinos who support Arroyo, while I don’t agree with them on their stand, I respect their right to do so.. but I do vehemently disagree only on the basis of performance and her lack of leadership, not to mention her scandal-laden stint as President..
I don’t agree with Bencard, but I will always respect his right to support the President, all I can do is try persuade him otherwise, which I believe is a hard battle indeed..
nick,
my comment above has something to do with the fact that now i know why bencard had been posting comments in FV the way that he does.
i do not know who this bencard is, and so i wonder why he seem to be so pit bullish in defense of the arroyos’ malfeasance.
now i know….