A swarm of commentary and coverage has followed the release of the most recent pastoral statement by the CBCP. The President’s allies are singing the bishops’ Hosannahs, while her critics sing a kind of funerary dirge. The bishops’ gambit seems to have saved the Queen. One trend is the view held by some, that the bishops are actually headed in a radical direction.
The bishops, in light of the jockeying to claim their statement as supportive of one camp or the other, have tried to issue clarifications.
Press coverage of Palace enticements and internal debates among the prelates continues to be brisk.
More revelations on what transpired in February. The Chief of Staff is retiring under a cloud, probably to the Palace’s delight.
Commission on Human Rights isn’t happy, though.
I don’t know if announcements such as exposing an alleged plot to seize the Batasan Pambansa and hold members of Congress at gunpoint, are really going to rally the faithful. Some, but I’d have thought that if anything would be popular on both sides of the aisles, it would be holding Congress hostage. Neither does exposing alleged plans to seize the Palace: who will die for the President if she calls for a defense? That’s what I’d like to know.
Updates: Jesse Lapus appointed Education Secretary: number of votes required for impeachment goes down to 77.
Joc-Joc Bolante, according to radio reports, has been apprehended in Los Angeles.
An important archeological site in Cagayan de Oro, destroyed?
The Mexican presidential standoff.
Should a letter from Thaksin to Dubya be publicized?
In the punditocracy, my Arab News column for this week is Arroyo Trumped Hyatt 10 Not With Competence but With Appearances. Naturally, Emil Jurado takes a different view of the Hyatt 10.
As the Inquirer editorial suggests, one of the debates is over where the bishops feel people should go, if they think impeachment will be useless if conducted the way it was last year. BenCyrus G. Ellorin has similar concerns.
Conrado de Quiros and Mike Tan delve into the pastoral statement, echoing a general concern: in trying to be unambiguous, the bishops sowed confusion. Bong Austero, on the other hand, thinks the bishops make sense (he emphasizes, too, he shouldn’t be considered a supporter of the President).
Manuel Buencamino pens an open letter to One Voice, challenging the idea of 2007 as an indirect referendum.
Amando Doronila says it’s clear a “Left-Right Conspiracy” did not exist; and that the President’s support is more fragile than previously thought.
Will have to do blogosphere wrap-up next time.
Technorati Tags: CBCP, constitution, impeachment, media, military, Philippines, politics
Luli, who i voted for has become moot and academic as Gloria seems to have gotten the Presidency through alternative means. What matters now is who is propping her up.
Jeg, your numbers probably add up. For the Erap/FPJ crowd, they have a point when they say ‘pare-pareho lang sila’, i can see where they are coming from. I don’t see how their continued inaction would help the situation though. I have felt their power in EDSA3, why not make use of it again to further their interest. Right now, Gloria’s Charter Change initiative is the immediate threat as this takes away their collective voice.
I cannot accept the same statement coming from those who voted for Roco or Arroyo, who now comprise the anti-opposition/pro-status quo crowd for the reason i stated above. As far as i can tell, they don’t have the same perspective as the prior group that’s why i believe it’s more of a cop-out.
cvj,
i was just trying to find out how you would face some thruth that you have created. in austero’s blog you and buencamino is twisting his arm for some transparency specifically about Hello garci tape. but here you are when you are confronted with the same demand, you evade it.
actually i read one of your posts that you voted for mrs aroyo….you see mrs aroyo was there because peopel voted for her, these politician was there because peopele voted for them. we cannoy impeach mrs arroyo because of the kind of congressmen congressmen that we have…
last years election was a very ver very tight race between mrs aroyo and fpj. it became so close becuase of peopel like you who despite all the “bad signs” ( another one of your genius words) about mrs aroyo . still still went on to cast their vote for mrs aroyo.
let me ask you this, dont you see those signs? the flipflopping, the corruptions inhere 4 year of office? even before garci tape, mrs aroyo has comitted so many wrong doings already… how in the hell, that people like still continue to vote for her? you did not know that she will cheat in the election? you did know that she has all the capacity to cheat being the current prsident? isn’t that reason why the constitution prohibits the current president from seeking another term? you dont know this???? common..
if it wasn’t a very close fight and we keep mrs aroyo in her no 4 standing in the pre election surveys. it woudl be very impossible for her to cheat her way for another full term….
o sige baka naman sabihin mo ” im finger pointing at you lang….
in my part, i voted for roco. now how i became a part of the problem. well my guilt was that maybe i did not worek much so that a “cleaner” candidate like roco did not win and cannot win any election. I could have shared some of my hard earned dollars to beef up roco or other deserving candidates. i could have spared some of my precious time to join those rocos volunters or other deserving candidates volunteer…i could have been more vigilant to make sure that cheating will not occur.
alright whatever happen last election becomes moot and academic now. but i still i dont believe that what matters now is who is propping her presidency. because to be realistic about it, gloria is here to stay , i guess for the rest of her term i guess. because however peopel hated her, peopel also dont has developed so much frsutration on almost all politicians that they dont know any more whom to trust. and who they want to replace mrs aroyo.
i for that matter just cannot accept that we just go ahead and overthrow mrs aroyo and justrepalce it with so just anybody. because i know this will just create another problem…
for me the only way to go, is to really learn as much as we can from our expereince with mrs aroyoo and all teh things that has happend and will be happening while mrs aroyo is in office.
of course she cheated! but teh way i see it, she is being punished for it already that malcanang has become her very own prison cell.
if we cannot impeached her and she doesn’t want to be impeach or voluntray resign, then go ahead stay! But she shoudl suffer her the consequences. She should be punished with ” hard labor” she has to work really hard to for all teh problems of the country. Para sa akin yan na ang parusa sa kanya!!!!
At tayo naman ang mga guardia, na mag babanatay sa bawat galaw nya. Ilang million ga ba tayo? 8 million, 10 million, 80 million?. Thats a lot. Dont you think?
luli, you cannot guilt trip me into silence. i voted for arroyo in good faith. that it turned out that my judgement was flawed is something i don’t hide. in fact, as far as i can tell from my [extensive, but by no means exhaustive] blog hopping , i’m the only one who admits to having voted for her. by doing so, i might have made it easier for mrs. arroyo to cheat, one less vote for fpj (in the same way that a vote for roco, lacson or villanueva is one less vote for fpj as well.) But these politicians are adults with a mind of their own and their choices are not foreordained. Mrs. Arroyo was faced with a choice and she chose wrongly, and for that, i am holding her responsible.
Those of you who voted for Roco may feel less obliged to change the status quo, that’s your choice. (I’m personally intrigued in the psychological aspect of that as i find it smug and a travesty of what Roco stood for.) ‘Malacanang as a prison’ or as a form of punishment is a flawed metaphor because a real prison does not command the levers of state – the armed forces, the national budget and the rest of the government machinery. As can be seen from the Charter Change initiative, she and her allies are not staying put so the sooner she is out of power, the sooner her abuses will end.
As for the next one who replaces Arroyo, he/she may be turn out to be as bad as well. I have no illusions on that, but i think this is where your advice on guarding his/her every move comes into play. What needs to be made clear to our would be leaders is that the people will not allow an abusive leader to go unpunished. We have to establish that pattern of reward and punishment for the sake of future Filipinos.
exactly, cvj, and i belive mrs arroyo has got more than enough of punishement. a very good question would be: have we gotten enough of the consequences of our wrong doing as well? have we learned enough?
and oh btw, i am not guilt tripping you. i have resigned to th efact the you and your ilk are really guilt proof. you would rather finger point than examine your very own conscience. right? you would rather gang up on people who dont go with your way than really do something about the numerous problems of the country…………..
luli, i suggest you reread what i just said. i don’t agree with you that ‘mrs arroyo has got more than enough of punishment’, and to insinuate that this was part of my message is misleading. mrs. arroyo is so far getting away with her crime and we are still in the process of trying to apprehend her and get some justice done.
And in case it is not clear enough, i believe that this is one of the ways by which we can, as you say, ‘really do something about the numerous problems of the country…’. A citizen’s responsibility covers both the private and the public domain. to pretend the latter could be made irrelevant or will just take care of itself is dangerously naive. As has already been said before, ‘politics is too important to be left to politicians.’
‘politics is too important to be left to politicians.’
true and enlightened politicians would welcome and even encourage citizen’s involvement and participation; false and blinded leaders keep the people in the dark to exploit them and lead them astray.
got this idea from Antonio, good tandem for next presidential election – mr. know it all manuelbuencamino for president….and the ever self righteous anna de brux for vice president. but i heard manuel is not inclined to run for public office still there is an option for you special adviser ka nalang for the next president….for sure the filipino people can’t afford not to make use of your brilliant ideas on how to run this country…..So how you intend to run this country anyway?
BKK,
Asking me how I would run the country if I were president?
I would have Gloria and her bunch of crooks lined up, caned and thrown in a dungeon!
Next I would have Chavit Singson and his mafiosi-like breed of politicians hauled off to prison and shackled there till they rot.
Tough on you if you ever are a part of the Arroyo brigage of plunderers coz you certainly are gonna get it too!
Unfortunately, I am not for death penalty so can’t very well obliterate life even from the worst of those scoundrels.
A citizen’s responsibility covers both the private and the public domain. to pretend the latter could be made irrelevant or will just take care of itself is dangerously naive. As has already been said before, ‘politics is too important to be left to politicians.’
Oh CVJ, I totally agree with you on this….so dont worry…I wonder though on how you woudl apply this to your life?
luli, i have not given it much thought. i guess just like any other normal person, by trying to do what i think is right as the situation arises.
LOL………..