By Ronron
February 24, 2007
Flawed it may be, the controversial Presidential Proclamation 1017 that placed the Philippines in a state of national emergency for one week a year ago was the saving grace of the Arroyo government.
For Ateneo de Manila University Professor Benito Lim, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took the risk in issuing the declaration on February 24, 2006 allegedly to prevent a supposed major destabilization plot against her administration just so she stays in power.
PP 1017 was issued by Arroyo after the Philippine military leadership learned of the plan of some high-ranking officers and members of the Army Scout Rangers, the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), and the Philippine National Police’ (PNP) Special Action Force to join the street demonstrations on February 24 last year in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the EDSA People Power I Revolution.
The military had said that Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim of the Army’s First Scout Rangers Regiment (FSRR) would then announce during the rally his withdrawal of support from Arroyo, hoping allegedly to spark similar moves by fellow officers until Arroyo no longer has control of the armed service.
While on EDSA, the group would try to gather a critical mass that is enough to replicate the People Power uprisings in 1986 and 2001, and difficult for the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to control.
The AFP went on to reveal the alleged collusion of Lim’s group, the Magdalo group that staged the failed mutiny at Oakwood Hotel in Makati City in July 2003, and the New People’s Army (NPA) to carry out such grand plan.
All of these, boiling down to the questionable legitimacy of the Arroyo presidency as a result of the public expose of the so-called “Hello Garci” tape that contains recorded conversations allegedly of Arroyo and former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano about rigging the 2004 election results to her favor.
However, since the AFP leadership prevailed upon Lim, and fellow officers, Marine Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and Col. Ariel Querubin, their planned march to EDSA never materialized. Instead, they went back to their respective camps.
The national situation would go tense again on February 26 when Querubin initiated an almost successful mass gathering at the PMC headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City as he emotionally protested the sudden relief of Miranda as PMC Commandant, in favor of then Brig. Gen. Nelson Allaga. The relief was still related to the planned February 24 march.
The incident resulted in a five-hour standoff until Querubin and the other complaining Marine officers and men decided to just recognize Allaga as their new chief.
As far as Prof. Lim is concerned, the unresolved “Hello Garci” scandal was a valid reason why the supposed actors of the alleged February 2006 coup plot reached that point. But he did not buy the alleged collusion of those in the mainstream and the communist movement, saying it may have just been invented by the military to add weight to the government’s justification for PP 1017.
“Primarily, that military action was premised on the cheating in the 2004 election. That was their primary complaint. And so, they claim that they cannot serve a commander-in-chief who is elevated there against the people’s will. That has never been addressed,” said former National Security Adviser (NSA) Jose Almonte in a separate interview.
Almonte, who was the NSA during President Fidel Ramos’ term from 1992 until 1998, said even the chance to address it in Congress through the impeachment process was shot down by Arroyo.
“In short, the actions of government were a series of cover-ups,” he said, recounting Malacañang’s Calibrated Preemptive Response (CPR) policy and Executive Order 464 issued in 2005, prior to PP 1017.
The CPR was meant to prevent people from holding rallies without permits, while EO 464 barred members of the Executive Branch, including the AFP, from testifying during legislative inquiries without Presidential approval. The issuance of these policies came at a time when the “Hello Garci” scandal was at its hottest.
Prof. Lim, who teaches political science, describes the CPR, EO 464 and PP 1017 as Martial Law in disguise.
“For me, PP 1017 was an overreaction. But it served her purpose,” he said, referring to Arroyo, who, indeed, remains in power up to now.
“If you are asking for my two-cents worth, having been a formerly National Security Adviser (NSA) for six years, my sense is it was an overreaction… because given the powers of the President, they can take care of it without those emergency powers,” Almonte, for his part, described PP 1017.
The two even cited the Supreme Court ruling in May last year on said proclamation, which in general says that PP 1017 was not totally constitutional.
“Although the Supreme Court ruled that those declarations or policies are not legitimate, it protected her, nevertheless. They were effective for her. She just wanted to stay in power using the AFP and the PNP,” Prof. Lim said.
Additionally, Almonte found fault on the part of the mutineers why last year’s planned coup failed, saying they misread the collective inclination of the people regarding their move.
“Having been a participant in the coups and counter-coups in the Philippines one way or another, I have concluded that in the Philippines, it is the Filipino people who determines whether a coup is successful or not. So, the elements in the military or the police who intend to take a political action will succeed only if they read correctly the collective sense of the Filipino people,” explained Almonte.
The 75-year-old retired Army Brigadier General is among the original members of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) that initiated the 1986 People Power Revolution, ending the more than two decades of dictatorial rule of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
A few months after the PP 1017 declaration, Almonte said the country slowly regained normalcy after the benefits of the economic reforms introduced by the Arroyo government, particularly the Revised Expanded Value Added Tax (VAT) Law, was slowly felt.
The government claimed that the new tax law, which was implemented starting November 2005, was able to raise a net revenue of P81.3 billion until end of 2006. This boosted total VAT collections of P268.7 billion for the year 2006, up by 71 percent from P156.7 billion in 2005.
The collections, according to the government, were allotted to infrastructure projects and foreign debt payments.
“This political stalemate, if I may call it, is weakened because of the surging economy. If the economy is weak or weaker than it used to, that political problem will continue to be used as a kind of club against the administration,” Almonte said.
This, he said, because the issues raised by some elements of the AFP and PNP remain unresolved.
“So, overall, as of 24 February, or one year later, this government will be in place. But, also for sure, the restiveness of elements in the military and the police will continue. But they are, for the moment, capped. It is in the bottle as of now and the lid is closed. But if something happens, like another scandal (comes out), (or) the economy suddenly deteriorates, it will be a new situation,” Almonte said.
Confronted with Almonte’s analysis relating the economic improvement to the political stability now, Prof. Lim said: “The economic growth is only in some sectors. And it has only benefited a small group, some businessmen. It is not felt by majority of the people.”
He said what frees the Arroyo government now from any threat of destabilization is that fact that the opposition has decided to “fight the battle through the electoral system.” On May 14, the electorate will choose a new set of 12 Senators, and local officials starting from members of the House of Representatives.
“If none from the opposition wins, that would mean for them that the Comelec (Commission on Elections) cheated. So that would spark another political turmoil,” warned Lim as he noted that the official poll body has yet to redeem itself from allegations of having been used by the Arroyo administration during the 2004 Presidential elections.
While Almonte acknowledged that the indictment of 28 Army and Marine officers, led by Lim, Miranda, and Querubin, before the General Court Martial (GCM) is part of the judicial process, he said he would also understand it if it becomes another gripe among other members of the AFP, especially that the accused officers have denied the allegation against them.
“In a larger context, the political system, the bigger judge here will not only be the court, but the bigger judge will be the people. That’s why (Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio) Trillanes (IV), who, I understand is running for Senator, is an indication that, Well, I bring my case to the people,” Almonte said.
The 28 are still awaiting arraignment at the GCM for the charges of Articles of War violation ranging from 67 (mutiny or sedition), 96 (conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman), 63 (Disrespect Towards the President, Vice President, Congress of the Philippines, or Secretary of National Defense), 65 (Assaulting or Willfully Disobeying Superior Officer), and 97 (Conduct Prejudicial to Good Order and Military Discipline).
A separate rebellion case in relation to the same incident is pending at the Department of Justice (DOJ) against 50 personalities with the communist movement and their perceived allies in the legal front, including Jose Maria Sison, chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines/NPA/National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP); Luis Jalandoni; Left-leaning solons Rafael Mariano, Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casino, Liza Maza, Joel Virador; and many more.
The same charge is also under preliminary investigation at the DOJ against at least 21 AFP personalities, at least two PNP officials, three political personalities, at least two two businessmen, at least six former AFP and PNP officials, at least four CPP/NPA/NDFP personalities, and at least 11 other civilians.
Another rebellion case is pending at the Makati City Regional Trial Court against Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran and Army 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan also in relation to said coup plot.
Prof. Lim said Arroyo may have prevailed during that crucial time, but the subsequent events proved that the people will not easily bow down to her desires.
“What made democracy possible these days is the integrity of the Court. They have shown allegiance to the Constitution… And so, (the Arroyo government) has to be very careful with what they do because it is being watched internationally,” Prof. Lim said.
Almonte, for his part, said the Filipino people will never be scared anymore by the government, even with the declaration of emergency powers. “You can no longer scare the Filipino people. They have already demonstrated their collective courage before the world. And their example is now a political beacon to the world,” he said, referring to the past two bloodless revolts.
He challenged the government instead to level the playing field in the country so every Filipino can compete responsibly, and not resort to actions that could fuel instability, such as rebellion and insurgency.
“The soldiers rebel only against bad governance, not against good governance. If you want the soldiers to stay in the barracks, be sure that you have good politics. It’s not the strength of the military that makes them take action. It is the weakness of the political leaders that gives the soldiers reason to take action,” Almonte said.
At the moment, the military chief, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., assures there is no destabilization threat against the Arroyo government coming from the organization, acknowledging that it is partly because the soldiers are preoccupied with the upcoming elections.
“Our situation now is very far from that in February 2006,” Esperon said./DMS
No comments:
Post a Comment