Another Turbulent Year for the Arroyo Presidency

But the ploy backfired on the administration. For one, with the filing of another complaint, Mrs. Arroyo earned the distinction of having the most number of impeachment complaints filed against any other Philippine president in history. Worse, the Arroyo administration tried to buy the cooperation of Lower House representatives and local officials. First, it tried to dangle the release of pork barrel funds to obtain the cooperation of congressmen. This bribery attempt was promptly exposed by Anakpawis (toiling masses) Rep. Crispin Beltran. Then it distributed bribes to representatives and local officials amounting from P 200,000 to P500,000 ( $4,816 to $12,042 at an exchange rate of $1=P41.52) right inside Malacañang in a meeting the administration called last October 11. This was exposed by the governor of Pampanga Ed Panliliio who is also a priest. The Macapagal-Arroyo administration could have been so desperate that it tried to bribe even a militant lawmaker and a priest.

These brazen bribery attempts revived calls for Mrs. Arroyo’s resignation or ouster.

Extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances

But Mrs. Arroyo’s woes did not stop with the Malacanang bribery scandal. As November was coming to an end, UN Rapporteur on Extrajudicial killings Philip Alston released his final report, which pointed to the AFP as the culprits behind the spate of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. And while Alston recognized the efforts of the Arroyo administration such as the setting up of the Melo commission and designation of special courts, he concluded that the killings are part of the government’s counterinsurgency program dubbed Oplan Bantay Laya (Operation Freedom Watch). He also criticized the wrong sense of priorities of the Department of Justice which expended a lot of efforts in running after the victims - progressive party-list representatives and leaders of people’s organizations identified with the Left- rather than the killers.

The subsequent granting of petitions of writs of amparo for leftists abducted by the military confirmed the conclusions regarding the involvement of the military. This was further strengthened by testimonies of two farmers who escaped from military custody. They confirmed suspicions that missing UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño are likewise being kept by the AFP. The enforced disappearance of Jonas Burgos has also been a thorn on the side of the AFP and the Arroyo administration. All indications, including the license plate of the van used in the abduction, clearly point to the culpability of the AFP.

Political crisis

Events in 2007 show that the political crisis which almost resulted in the ouster of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration in 2005 is far from being resolved. The Manila Peninsula standoff, which many considered as an ill-prepared and futile effort, nevertheless showed that all is not well even within the AFP.

The crisis has, in fact, worsened in 2007. The piling up of cases and scandals involving the Macapagal-Arroyo administration has again put it in the defensive. Old and new issues continue to hound the Arroyo government and the efforts of the administration to push these aside are becoming more and more difficult. Cracks within the ruling party are now showing with the expose’ of Jose de Venecia III. These have put the Arroyo government in a desperate position thus, its brazen attempts at bribery. And its recent moves to “shock and awe” opposition to its rule, through the use of repressive and intimidating actions and measures merely backfire. Examples of this are the strong criticisms it got in its handling of the Makati standoff, which included the arrest of journalists, and in Mrs. Arroyo’s proposal to revive the Anti-Subversion law.

The movement calling for the resignation or ouster of what is now called as a “morally bankrupt” government is again gaining ground. The question now is, “Will the Arroyo government survive till 2010?” All indications point to the further worsening of the situation in 2008. But much depends on the momentum of the people’s movement for the ouster and resignation of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.

If the Arroyo government survives 2008, time will definitely be on its side. By then, preparations for the 2010 presidential elections will be underway. But the crisis it engendered will only become worse. This may lead to the weakening of the institutions of government and the radicalization of the Filipino people. Bulatlat