Benjie Oliveros » The Silent Majority

The Arroyo government has so far been able to rely on its lowly representatives in the House to block all efforts to impeach it; its old but loyal allies in Senate to keep investigations in check; and the chain of command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police to suppress any attempts at removing it from power. Most of all, it has counted on public apathy so that it could cheat, plunder, kill, suppress, coerce, bomb, confuse, peddle concessions, and stonewall with impunity.

BY BENJIE OLIVEROS

MANILA, Philippines — The Macapagal-Arroyo administration is second only to the Marcos dictatorship in terms of having the longest-running unsatisfactory rating, and being involved in the most number of controversial issues than any other presidency in Philippine history. It has been impeached the most number of times.

But the Arroyo government has so far been able to rely on its lowly representatives in the House to block all efforts to impeach it; its old but loyal allies in Senate to keep investigations in check; and the chain of command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police to suppress any attempts at removing it from power. Most of all, it has counted on public apathy so that it could cheat, plunder, kill, suppress, coerce, bomb, confuse, peddle concessions, and stonewall with impunity.

But not for long.

The recent Pulse Asia survey on the public’s views on corruption is instructive of the Filipino people’s awareness and sentiment. Seventy percent of Filipinos would like the Senate to pursue the investigation on the controversial National Broadband Network (NBN) contract with ZTE even as the Arroyo government had cancelled it and made Benjamin “the Broker” Abalos the sacrificial lamb by making him resign in disgrace. Fifty nine percent of Filipinos think that a president should resign if s/he tolerates graft and corruption or has been linked directly or indirectly to such cases. Majority or 61 percent are willing to sign petitions advocating the resignation or removal from office of a president. Twenty-seven percent would join rallies while 26 percent would be willing to speak in protest actions against corruption. One in four Filipinos or 25 percent would be willing to do whatever is necessary - beyond public rallies and marches - to remove a president.

These percentages are significant and it shows that neither apathy nor hopelessness characterizes the public’s sentiment. It shows that the public is not taking the official line of the Arroyo government that it has got nothing to do with the anomalous ZTE-NBN contract, and that the country should move on and not get stuck with further discussing the issue. Asking Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign may seem hopeless as she has repeatedly and callously rejected such calls. But in signing a petition, a person takes action, makes public his/her sentiment, and somehow commits to a call or demand.

Some would say that 26 to 27 percent of Filipinos joining rallies does not yet reflect the majority. But only around 1 to 1.5 million gathered at EDSA was enough to remove presidents from power in both People Power uprisings. If majority of the population, say 51 percent, gather in rallies all over the country, that would already be able to not only remove a president but topple a government.

Some say that “only” 25 percent expressed willingness to do whatever is necessary to remove a president. But another way of looking at it is that 25 percent of Filipinos are already willing to go beyond what is provided by the constitution. This may also mean that one out of four Filipinos are willing to go beyond “peaceful” methods. This should make any president tremble and alarm any administration.

It is true that these figures do not necessarily mean that tomorrow or next week 20 million Filipinos would be out in the streets joining rallies or employing other means beyond what is provided for in the constitution. But the results of the survey showed that the people are aware of and are fed up with corruption. It reflects the extent that corruption, a not too gut-level issue, has been radicalizing the population. Worsening hunger and poverty have been making corruption scandals more contemptible and appalling.

The Marcos family was corrupt - they even landed in the Guinness Book of World Records for it. But what did them in is that they suppressed too many people for too long a time. Joseph Estrada was removed because of corruption. But what caused his downfall was that he flaunted his profligacy. The Macapagal-Arroyo administration is doing every means possible to suppress investigations to cover up its involvement in corruption scandals. But there have been too many scandals and issues that have been directly and indirectly linked to Malacanang. Even the World Bank which has been dealing with so many corrupt governments has been compelled by the gravity of the situation to act by suspending the release of a $232 million soft loan for road projects.

The Macapagal-Arroyo administration has been taunting the Left and the Opposition for not being able, so far, to muster enough numbers in rallies. It has also been falsely claiming that only a small group is against the administration. But the longer it stays in power, the more it would radicalize the population. And the majority of the Filipino people would soon show that it could not be silent for too long. (Bulatlat)