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
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