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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to
search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts
Vol. VI, No. 37
Oct. 22 - 28, 2006 Quezon City, Philippines |
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STREETWISE*
The Bigger Picture
This is the latest in
the wave of illegal, criminal assaults by a politically isolated regime
against those who have the will and the capacity to bring about the broad
united front of political forces necessary in order to rid the country of
Mrs. Arroyo's dastardly leadership.
BY CAROL
PAGADUAN-ARAULLO
Business World
Posted by Bulatlat
I stood on the steps of the entrance to the
Makati City Hall, taking in the sights and sounds of the latest political
stand-off in the heart of the country's premier business center, where an
embattled mayor fights off what is widely perceived to be political
persecution by his sworn enemy, no less than the de facto president, Mrs.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Mayor Jejomar Binay's fortitude and will to stand his ground is most
apparent. He appears calm and focused as he is approached by a throng of
concerned followers, supporters and mass media people lured by an
unfolding real-life drama that could have some unusual twists and quite
unexpected outcomes.
Mr. Binay's preparation for this moment is clearly more than
psychological: there is a sense of order and direction despite the tense
atmosphere, the constant stream of people and the bellowing of the loud
speaker conveying the ongoing program where speakers take turns lambasting
the government and calling on the crowd to chant Binay's name in a
demonstration of their loyal support.
The threat that the police and even army troops will storm Mr. Binay's
bastion, a twenty-two story, modern high rise rivaling those in the
central business district, is real. It can also happen earlier than
expected should Malacanang take the option of trying to nip in the bud
what Mr. Binay's supporters hope will become, at least, a mini "people
power" phenomenon. On the other hand, a bloody assault could be
politically costly and provoke
even more widespread outrage and set into motion events that could spin
out of control.
There is an unmistakable feel of traditional, patronage politics in the
air. After all, Mr. Binay is not just a well-entrenched local politician
in one of the wealthiest cities of Metro Manila, he is also the head of
UNO or the United Opposition, a loose alliance of opposition parties and
personalities that he is most instrumental in cobbling together, to do
battle with an unpopular but wily and ruthless Malacanang
occupant. Moreover, most of several hundreds of people gathered in front
of the city hall are Mr. Binay's poor constituents in Makati,
beneficiaries of years of the city government's largesse in the form of
fairly generous social services and benefits.
Yet the presence of the broad array of groups and forces that have been
working for more than a year in trying to force Mrs. Arroyo to step down
from power -- in the wake of irrefutable evidence of massive cheating
during the last presidential elections, of plunder of the national
treasury and wanton abuse of authority by Mrs. Arroyo and her subalterns,
and of grievous human rights violations including unabated extrajudicial
killings of
activists and suspected dissidents -- is the best proof that the political
crisis in Makati is not really about its mayor much less his alleged
crimes in office.
First thing first, is the preventive suspension order issued by Malacanang
valid? Mr. Binay contends that it is not. He is accused of placing
"ghost employees", i.e. employees who do not exist, on the payroll of the
city but there is no clear proof of such. There is not even a listing of
who the alleged "ghost employees" are and in what departments they are
said to have been spuriously employed. Neither is there evidence Mr. Binay
is
responsible for hiring such alleged non-existent city hall employees nor
that he tolerated their alleged anomalous drawing of salaries from the
government.
With not even the flimsiest of grounds for a Malacanang-ordered preventive
suspension, other circumstances contribute to the suspicion that the move
to force Mr. Binay from the mayorship of Makati is a brazen abuse of
presidential power meant to systematically eliminate the strongholds of
the Opposition and substantially weaken if not destroy their ability to
challenge Mrs. Arroyo's illegitimate rule.
For one, the preventive suspension has been leveled against not only the
mayor but the vice-mayor and all of the members of the city council. All
the better to demolish Mr. Binay's residual political control or influence
in the city government?
Secondly, the complainant against Mr. Binay is a perennial loser for the
mayoralty who has made it his lifetime ambition to cut Mr. Binay down to
size. When asked by reporters if he would accept an offer to take over in
the event that the incumbent is successfully removed from office, he is
said to have immodestly announced his willingness to serve the remainder
of Mr. Binay's term. Why was Malacanang only too eager to entertain this
complaint at this time?
Why didn't Mrs. Arroyo's bright boys undertake due diligence to
investigate the matter fully before unceremoniously trying to kick Mr.
Binay out? Indeed, the tentacles of the Chief Executive, from the
Executive Secretary to the Department of Interior and Local Governments to
the Philippine National Police, have all acted with indecent haste, if not
uncharacteristic efficiency, in issuing the preventive suspension and then
plotting the
mayor's bodily removal from his office.
The larger picture must be shown for all to see. This is not just another
mayor's desperate fight to remain in office in the wake of charges of
graft and corruption.
It is the latest in the wave of illegal, criminal assaults by a
politically isolated regime against those who have the will and the
capacity to bring about the broad united front of political forces
necessary in order to rid the country of Mrs. Arroyo's dastardly
leadership. Business World / Posted by Bulatlat
*Published in Business World
October 20-21, 2006
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