This story was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 26, August 7-13, 2005

The Drifting ‘Ship of State’
Ferment among young officers brewing

It will take nothing less than the "turning of the wheel" through arduous people's struggle to liberate the masses from perpetual want and servitude. Only then will they have a chance to exercise genuine people empowerment and determine their own destiny in the course of time.

By Danilo P. Vizmanos
Posted by Bulatlat

The Arroyo "ship of state" is now a drifting hulk that has lost its moral compass and seaworthiness. A massive crack has weakened its hull after skipper Arroyo, in her obsession to clinch the presidential election, deliberately rammed the ship against "Garci's Reef." It was not just a mental lapse.

Desperate damage control measures can only delay, but not prevent the political fallout that lies ahead. It was her own misdeeds that led to irredeemable loss of the people's trust, confidence and support for her person and public image as consistently shown in all credible opinion surveys.

Now the people know why it took one whole month before the official May 2004 presidential election results were made public. The "Garci tapes" provide the "smoking gun."

But even before the revelation of the incriminating tapes, the economic and human rights situation under the Arroyo regime had become so bad and unbearable to the citizenry. Very few people believed that she could win in a fair and honest election. So the need for the "Hello Garci" exchange of messages and series of instructions.

The Arroyo regime engages in self-deception by ignoring the massive multisectoral protest actions and consistent results of highly credible opinion polls. Yet she cannot close her eyes to the "handwriting on the wall."

Ms. Arroyo asserts that she will never step down no matter what. Yet she knows deep within her innermost thoughts that it is not her self-serving pronouncements, but the unfolding of events that will decide her fate, once and for all.

Any cum laude candidate in political science will readily discern that there is a missing element in the unfolding political scenario, i.e., a dramatic happening within the military institution. A public show of disaffection by a sizeable group of young and idealistic officers could be the spark that can set off the equivalent of a boiler explosion in a rapidly flooding engine room.

Ferment within the officer corps is now the talk of the town which the high command will of course deny. Only time will tell whether this group of young officers are just bluffing or serious in upholding principles and willing to "cast the die" with the prospect of being recognized as "patriots" by a new dispensation.

On Charter change

Political power derives from economic power. This explains why there are no senators and congressmen who come from the toiling masses (save for a pitiful few from party list organizations).

As long as today's elite-oriented, exploitative and corrupt socio-economic order remains unchanged, political scoundrels will always call the shots in Congress and Malacañang. Needless to say, they will ensure that constitutional amendments, laws and policies are crafted to serve their personal and class interests, first and foremost and always. It is therefore necessary for these scoundrels to deceive the hungry, grumbling and restless masses into thinking that charter change is the key to their salvation.

It will take nothing less than the "turning of the wheel" through arduous people's struggle in its varied forms to liberate the masses from perpetual want and servitude. Only then will they discover their latent strength and political potential. Only then will they have a chance to exercise genuine people empowerment and determine their own destiny in the course of time! Posted by Bulatlat

© 2004 Bulatlat ■  Alipato Publications

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