Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: A Puppet President?

Arroyo’s Political Hopping Takes Its Toll

Arroyo, who now vows “new politics,” used old-style (read: traditional) politics to get to where she is. She was hailed as a genius for that. Ironically, observers say, this same “talent” is now taking its toll, manifesting mainly in her absence of control in Malacañang and the immense power and influence of the interest groups and individuals that surround her.

(Conclusion)

By CARLOS H. CONDE

 Prior to finally dumping former AFP chief of staff Lisandro Abadia as national security adviser late last month, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo displayed one of the traits that did not exactly endear her to the public: her ambiguous stand on issues that bordered on indecisiveness. Before she went on nationwide television with her “I shall crush you” speech, President Arroyo had been silent on the issue that was already buffeting her then 10-day old administration.

But unlike her past political evasiveness (“political acuity,” some would say) that enabled her to please both sides of the political fence (Arroyo took a long time to abandon the Estrada government, despite the mounting outcry over its corruption and incompetence), Arroyo’s struggle over the Abadia issue had more to do with the fact that she was not in control of the situation.

Abadia, after all, was not her man; he was a Ramos-de Villa boy. This holds true as well for PNP chief Leandro Mendoza, whose appointment, like Abadia’s, faced mounting criticism because of his alleged links with gambling and kidnapping.

According to a source privy to the goings on in Malacañang, the President had been frantically searching for a spokesman at the time the Abadia issue was dominating national news in late January. “The reason for that,” the source said, “was that GMA should not be defending appointees which were not really hers. Why should she defend Abadia and Mendoza while (Executive Secretary Renato) de Villa was just keeping quiet?” De Villa nominated and strongly backed the two.

Who Calls The Shots?

Although no other appointments have so far given Arroyo as much headache, the episode with Abadia and Mendoza confirmed one thing: the President, owing to her lack of political base (and, thus, her own trusted people), was not calling the shots.

Because her role in the struggle against Estrada was limited – she only came out publicly against Estrada a few days after Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson exposed the former president’s links to jueteng – she also did not marshal the forces against Estrada nor took on the leading role in the protests. Indeed, the only thing going for Arroyo at the time was the fact that she was the constitutional successor to Estrada.  It was inevitable that those who worked more behind the scenes, such as Ramos and de Villa, would take charge after Estrada’s downfall. This was clear in Arroyo’s appointments. Or, to be more precise, in the people she was made to appoint.

A rundown of some of these major appointments will show that most of the appointments have links with either Ramos or de Villa. (See list.)

In fairness to Arroyo, she did appoint a few of her own people but to positions not as crucial as the ones occupied by the Ramos or de Villa appointees.

There were also signs that she sometimes simply did not get her wish. Take the appointment for press secretary. Arroyo had wanted to appoint her longtime public relations (PR) agent, Dante Ang. But Kompil 2, which considered Ang’s PR background as unacceptable, opposed him. In the end, former newspaper editor Noel Cabrera, a carry-over from the Estrada administration, was named to the position. Ang, however, managed to get a concession from Arroyo in exchange for not forcing the issue: he was given the privilege to name the people to run government-owned or –controlled media entities such as the Journal group of publications.

Ramos’ Hand

The appointment of people not identified with Arroyo was so overwhelming that, in the February 2 online poll by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 64 percent of the 1,635 respondents felt that Ramos’ men dominated the Cabinet. “This has led to criticisms that the new administration is under the undue influence of the former president,” the paper wrote. Or, as one senior government official told Bulatlat.com, “Ramos’ direct hand may not be visible but it’s there.”

Ruben Carranza, the former assistant secretary of defense, explained: “The hand of Fidel Ramos is written in many of the appointments to sensitive positions in the Arroyo Cabinet.  Worse, some of these appointments are in disregard of the President's own criterion that integrity should be a trait possessed by the appointee. The appointment of retired general Lisandro Abadia as national security adviser is an example.”

But Agrarian Reform Secretary Hernani Braganza, a nephew of Ramos, disputed the claim that the ex-president’s hand was all over the Arroyo administration. “FVR hardly pushed for anybody. He did not get me my position,” he said.

De Villa’s Clout

Indeed, there are those who suspect that, more than Ramos, it is de Villa who has more clout in the new dispensation. De Villa was, after all, a key man in the United Opposition and, the general that he was, he was calling the shots at Linden Suites, the “command center” of the Arroyo camp at the height of People Power 2. He was not only appointed executive secretary – his partner in the Ayala clique (Kompil’s Vicky Garchitorena) was named PMS head while a backer in the 1998 elections (Renato Corona) was named chief of staff. The positions of executive secretary, chief of staff and PMS chief are the three most crucial posts in Malacañang. Practically no one gets to the President without passing through these.

Moreover, it was de Villa who was tasked by Arroyo to take charge of the security-related appointments such as AFP chief of staff, national security adviser, PNP chief and defense chief. When some complained against Abadia and Mendoza, de Villa stood his ground, telling the complainants essentially that he had the last word on these appointments.

These are indications that de Villa is coming into his own, in spite of the long and close relationship he has with Ramos. “Under the Arroyo administration,” says Carranza, “Ramos has to contend with the likes of de Villa. He can only maneuver so much (because) de Villa is coming into his own.”

Shallow Bench

The context of all these maneuverings in the Palace, of course, is Arroyo’s lack of political base, if not control. Her shallow bench, so to speak, was the inevitable result of her past political hopping. Since becoming a senator in 1992, Arroyo had switched at least three political parties, moving to Lakas-NUCD only in the 1998 elections.

Political analyst and journalist Ellen Tordesillas, who covered Malacanang for years, said that, indeed, Arroyo is saddled by the fact that she doesn’t have her own people. “She does not have a political base. That is why she depends on the groups of FVR, Cory Aquino, Cardinal Sin, and de Villa,” Tordesillas said.

A top Lakas-NUCD strategist who requested anonymity confirmed this to Bulatlat.com. “It is true that she does not have that many people that is why she has to rely on people from the Ramos and de Villa camps. But I view that as both an advantage and a disadvantage. Advantage because she has no political debts,” the source said.

Trapo Tactics

But some people do not agree with that view. Ferdie Llanes of eLagda, the bustling Internet discussion group that helped oust Estrada, observed that “forging a pact with the devil” is Arroyo’s “fatal weakness.”

The dominance of traditional political groups and ex-generals in Arroyo’s circle, he said, is the reason “why there was so much hush-hush in the politics of transition, enough for everybody to observe the sidetracking of the people's organizations in the drive -- nay, the haste -- to install elitist ambition and glory of just another trapo (traditional politics) politics. Yes, she is indeed captive to the real powers that be in post-arcos politics. And why? Because Arroyo never really took to the streets, never really stood shoulder to shoulder with all of us, never really smelled the stench of sweat among us, never really relied on the meaning, the realization, the processes of people power. From the beginning to the 11th hour of People Power 2, it was trapo-military politics that she principally relied on, with token paeans to people power on the streets and its vast potentials for political gain.”

Carranza, the defense analyst who also teaches constitutional law at the University of the Philippines (UP), said in a paper submitted to a February 4 forum at UP titled “Perspectives on People Power”: “The Arroyo Cabinet is an eclectic mix of old politicos, new politicians, technocrats, retired generals and People Power 2 activists. Will that combination work? ‘Work for what?’ is the question. A government that has not set a clear agenda is a government ripe for agenda-setters, which is why I am apprehensive about the Fidel Ramos bloc in the Cabinet.”

In an interview, Carranza said it was clear that Arroyo “tried to find some balance somewhere. But she started out in an imbalance because she abdicated security matters to de Villa.” To illustrate, Carranza agreed to the point made by the source in Malacanang: “She found it hard to defend Abadia because he was not her appointee.”

This reliance on traditional politicians and vested interest groups is bound to create troubles for Arroyo. If anything, the various interests that swirl around her administration could make it impossible for her to pursue the “new politics” she had referred to in her inaugural address. Besides, as Newsweek’s Brook Larmer wrote, Filipinos “find it hard to understand what Arroyo means when she promises ‘new politics.’ Didn’t she use old-style tactics to get to the top?”

Militants’ Outrage

The militant groups who led the anti-Estrada struggle even before the word “impeachment” became fashionable are exasperated, if not outraged, at the way things are developing in Malacañang.

“We are not asking for quick fixes to the country’s innumerable problems; what we are asking for are, at the least, the President’s clear-cut commitments. She has been busy completing her Cabinet but she has not even spoken of the more pressing concerns of the people -- poverty, unemployment, homelessness, landlessness,” said Crispin Beltran of Kilusang Mayo Uno.

Because of her silence on these issues, Beltran said, “we are wont to think that this new government is fast shaping up to be like its predecessor, not in the sense that it is headed by a president who gambles, drinks and womanizes, but in the sense that it is headed by a president who wants to maintain the exploitative status quo and preserve the interests of the ruling elite.”

“Instead of assuring the people that she will put a stop to the oil price hikes, rising unemployment, demolitions of urban poor communities and the militarization in the countryside, she hastened to reaffirm her commitment to the foreign multilateral agencies of the IMF-WB and the World Trade Organization,” he added.

Beltran warned Arroyo:  “Do not tempt fate and court the people’s ire. Do not be like the past administrations that have issued the people empty promises and gave them false hopes of development and progress. Do not be like the Estrada government who carried out a vendetta against the Filipino people by waging all-out wars against their livelihood though mass layoffs, oil-price hikes, and union busting; and war against their actual persons through Oplan  Makabayan, the bombings in Mindanao, and the violence at picketlines all over  the country.”

Absence Of Support

In an interview with Bulatlat.com, Carranza pointed out the need for Arroyo to “rethink the absence of support” for her because “even FVR and de Villa are not necessarily respected as politicians.” He cited the case of Sen. Gringo Honasan, the charismatic former soldier who led several coup attempts against the Aquino regime. “Gringo was respected as an officer but the moment he became a politician, that was no longer the case,” Carranza said.

Arroyo, he said, cannot afford to make Ramos and de Villa the ultimate refuge for her political troubles. “If she thinks de Villa and Ramos are her refuge, that’s fine but she has to find another refuge. The nongovernment groups could be it, although they are not a very reliable unit.”

For practical reasons, he added, “she has to mobilize the middle class, which is really her constituents.”

Teresita Ang-See, executive director of Kaisa sa Kaunlaran, the foundation that vehemently opposed the appointment of Mendoza, has this to say about Arroyo: “ I have worked with Mrs. Arroyo at the DSWD and she is very good, very assertive, very in charge, very bright. I was convinced that she is not a pushover. But the military is deliberately scaring her, feeding on her sense of insecurity at this time of transition. She should draw her strength from the people.”

Llanes, on the other hand, wanted to give Arroyo the benefit of the doubt. “I still would give her the benefit of doubt. No, she is probably not a trapo. She said she is not ambitious. No, she is not captive of the post-Marcos phenomenon of the military-trapo combine. Arroyo could certainly prove these by responding to the demands of those who installed her in Malacañang: the people.” #