Arroyo Regime Is Disintegrating; But Still
Has a Few Tricks to Play
The crisis of the ruling system has become so grave that the
ruling classes can no longer rule in the old way. The people want a
revolutionary change of government, in which the toiling masses of workers
and peasants obtain and exercise their due share of political power.
By Prof. Jose
Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
Posted by Bulatlat
The Arroyo regime is visibly cracking up and
disintegrating under the pressure of the broad united front of opposition
political parties, mass organizations, professional organizations, church
people, business groups, retired military and police officers and other
forces demanding the resignation or ouster of Gloria M. Arroyo from her
usurped position as president of the Government of the Republic of the
Philippines (GRP).
After consultation with Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, former GRP president
Corazon Aquino has categorically called for the resignation of Arroyo and
her replacement by the vice-president, Noli de Castro. In turn, the latter
has promptly begun to drum up his claims to competence as her successor.
Through his most trusted agents, he has proceeded discreetly to contact
military and police officers for support.
The ruling coalition is breaking up. The Liberal Party has taken the lead
in calling for the resignation of Arroyo. Ten cabinet members and high
officials of the Arroyo regime have resigned and in turn have demanded
that Arroyo resign, instead of requiring all cabinet members to resign.
They seem to be acting in coordination with church and business groups
which have demanded the resignation of Arroyo.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has declared that units of
the New People’s Army (NPA) are keeping away from urban population centers
in order to encourage the broad masses of the people to march and rally
against the regime. The NPA is concentrating on waging tactical offensives
in the countryside.
At least four significant groups of military officers have welcomed the
CPP declaration and have pledged to uphold civilian supremacy, respect the
democratic rights of the people and withdraw support from Arroyo upon
sight of at least 500,000 people in the national capital region.
The chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines has declared
that the military would respect the democratic rights of the people to
assemble and speak. But the chief of the Philippine National Police is
expressing extreme loyalty to Arroyo and hostility toward the people who
are exercising their rights in opposition to the regime.
U.S. officials at various levels have announced that any change of
government in the Philippines must follow the “constitutional path” and
“rule of law” and have continued to express support for the Arroyo regime.
Thus, the regime boasts that it will stay in power so long as it keeps
U.S. support. At the same time, some pro-U.S. elements in the
conservative opposition parties claim that Arroyo has lost that support.
While the regime is definitely disintegrating, Arroyo can still play a few
tricks in ways more serious than apologizing for a “lapse in judgment” and
“sending away” her husband and her son. She continues to proclaim that
she will not resign. The forces of the broad united front are therefore
forewarned not to become complacent but to be more resolute and militant
than ever in arousing and mobilizing the people in their millions and in
adopting a wide range of tactics to demonstrate the regime’s inability to
govern.
Plans are afoot for Arroyo to stage mass rallies in her favor, especially
in some provinces where governors and mayors remain as her allies, and to
use the Philippine National Police to suppress mass rallies that are not
granted permits by pro-Arroyo local authorities. By these plans Arroyo is
taking a gamble that is likely to inflame civil strife. The very crowds
she tries to rally can also turn against her as in the Ceaucescu example
in Romania.
As the public clamor for resignation or ouster continues to grow and her
regime becomes untenable, Arroyo is supposed to have two possible courses
of action. One is to take a leave of absence and have the vice-president
Noli de Castro perform the functions of the presidency. Another is for
her to become the “caretaker president,” who will follow a script prepared
by former president Fidel V. Ramos, House Speaker Jose de Venecia and some
smart guys of Lakas-NUCD.
The script entrusts the “caretaker president” with the task of letting a
“high commission” to go through the motion of investigating some
corruption scandals, the two houses of Congress to become a constituent
assembly that will make constitutional amendments for satisfying the U.S.
and the local exploiting classes and for adopting a federal and
parliamentary system and the parliamentary elections to take place in
2006.
However, the most that Arroyo can do is to gain a little more time on her
political death bed. She has politically and morally suffered a fatal
wound by being caught in the act of electoral fraud and stealing the GRP
presidency. The tapes are the incontrovertible proof of her grave crime
before the court of public opinion.
They expose the immorality and illegitimacy of Arroyo’s usurpation of
power. They have already kindled the fire that is fuelled by the wide and
deep-going social discontent of the people due to the crisis of the ruling
system and that has the potential of burning down not only the political
house of Arroyo but the entire ruling system of big compradors and
landlords.
Since after the overthrow of Estrada in 2001, the institutions and
stalwarts of the ruling system have considered the phenomena of mass
uprisings repeatedly overthrowing a president as being very risky for the
entire ruling system. They have been frightened by the expressed CPP view
that the revolutionary forces and people strengthen themselves by
overthrowing one ruling clique after another until they gain enough
strength to overthrow the entire ruling system. In reaction, the
apologists of the ruling system have invented the myth that the people are
tired of mass uprisings.
But the ruling system has a problem in keeping a detested president long
in power. The longer a president like Arroyo stays in power, the more
rotten and despicable she makes the system to the increasingly exploited
and oppressed people. And whoever is the president, so long as the rotten
system persists, the people will detest it and have all the opportunity to
strengthen themselves, irrespective of how long or short a president can
stay in office.
The broad masses of the people demand that the basic roots of their
oppression and exploitation are addressed. They wish to empower
themselves against the U.S. and the local exploiting classes that torment
and make them suffer. They wish to uphold national sovereignty, conserve
the national patrimony, carry out land reform and national
industrialization, promote a national, scientific and democratic culture
and adopt an independent foreign policy for world peace and development.
The crisis of the ruling system has become so grave that the ruling
classes can no longer rule in the old way. The people want a
revolutionary change of government, in which the toiling masses of workers
and peasants obtain and exercise their due share of political power.
There are revolutionary forces that can lead the people in the
revolutionary process.
Social degradation and political turmoil will continue so long as the
ruling system of big compradors and landlords persists. The victory of the
broad united front against the Arroyo regime should lead to the formation
of a transition council and a government that accommodate the patriotic
and progressive forces of the legal democratic movement and pave the way
for the success of peace negotiations with the revolutionary forces and
people represented by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
Posted by Bulatlat
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