This time Mrs. Arroyo was sincere and angry. She was sincerely angry that her insincere apology did not fool anybody. She is determined to stay in Malacanang, no matter what anybody says or does. She will do and say anything just to stay there.
She said it was unfair to demonize her. She said, “By the cross that God in His wisdom has given me to bear, so I will bear it. I never questioned God’s ways before. And I will not do so now.” God in His infinite wisdom told her to call Garci? That idea may have come from someone else.
She blamed the system. She said, “Over the years, our political system has degenerated to such an extent that it’s very difficult to live within the system with hands totally untainted. That is the truth.”
She’s telling the truth, it’s difficult to stay clean. That’s why only those with strong moral fiber should be holding public office.
She asked people like her to help set things right. She said, “We are collectively to blame so we must collectively be the solution. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. For those who feel that they cannot cast the first stone, I invite you to help in the solution.”
Well, there are many who can cast the first stone because they are honest and do not lie, steal or cheat, and for them the solution is to get rid of all those who cannot cast the first stone. That’s why she invited only those who cannot cast the first stone.
But more than what Mrs. Arroyo said, which is nothing but an insult to all of us, it’s the timing of her announcement that catches one’s attention.
Rumors that Susan Roces was going to issue a call to the masa next week, Cabinet resignations, and the withdrawal of support for Mrs. Arroyo by junior officers in the AFP and the PNP if the crowds show up following Susan’s call, forced Mrs. Arroyo to make the pre-emptive announcement of firing her cabinet and calling for Charter change.
Mrs. Arroyo is trying to force Susan Roces to act before all her ducks are in a row. She is gambling on the probability that the opposition has not jelled and the junior ranks of the AFP/PNP are still weighing their options and courses of action.
Mrs. Arroyo is also throwing a wrench at the growing consensus among the middle forces that she should go. Fortunately, for those of us who can’t wait for her to go, she may have erred in shooting down the truth commission idea. The truth commission was proposed by fence-sitters. Now they have nowhere to sit.
Firing her Cabinet , her official family, is as empty as exiling her personal family. Furthermore, Mrs. Arroyo’s promise to concentrate on Charter change while giving her new cabinet a free hand to run the government is specious. If she is not going to concentrate on governance, why does she have to stay in Malacanang? She can do Charter change as a private citizen.
The Ramos proposal for Mrs. Arroyo to head a caretaker government while Charter changed is rushed is a Trojan horse to sneak controversial and contentious security and economic provisions into the Constitution. The timing and timetable of the proposal smells of a hidden agenda. A constituent assembly drafting a constitution in three months and offering it for an up or down vote on the fourth month does not allow for careful deliberation and thorough debate on such an important document. Why rush it?
Why package it with Mrs. Arroyo?
Mrs. Arroyo outmarcoses Marcos in her lust for power. She is so unlike her father. Her father is more than just a good guy, he is a saint compared to her. The poor man must be spinning in his grave.