Resignation is the Solution

Separate Opinion : A peaceful solution

Isagani Cruz
Inquirer News Service

THE CURRENT conflict between the friends and foes of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is going to get worse before it gets any better. In either case, it is the nation that will be caught between Scylla and Charybdis.

So far, the dispute has been limited to a propaganda war, with both sides claiming victory in the strength of their arguments and the size of their rallies. The pros are denounced for their tenacious hold on power, the antis for their scheme to regain it.

The trouble is that both of the contending parties are weakened by some of their leaders. The proponents' major liability is President Arroyo herself, whose approval rating has been dropping without let-up. The opponents are blemished by such disreputable characters as Francisco Tatad and Tito Sotto.

Susan Roces has a legitimate grievance but she should dissociate herself from the politicians who are simply using her for their own designs. She does not need them because there are many non-partisan citizens willing to support her.

But they will not do so if she remains in the company of political opportunists. The masses of our country are better off without Fidel Ramos and Jose de Venecia from the administration and Panfilo Lacson and Aquilino Pimentel from the opposition.

Both the administration and the opposition agree on the plan to convert our government from the presidential to the parliamentary. It is worth considering but for one failing. It is not sincere but dictated by personal greed. It is proposed by politicians for their own ends, not the nation's welfare.

Ms Arroyo is in favor because it will give her a gracious exit from the presidency that she is now in peril of losing. Under the amended Constitution, she could be president once more, with former President Ramos or Speaker De Venecia as prime minister. Like President Diosdado Macapagal, they could all be singing "Happy Days Are Here Again!"

But Lacson and Pimentel may yet foil their plans. With Edgardo Angara and Franklin Drilon, they can all aspire to the new leadership with the beautiful Loren Legarda as their Reyna Elena and Jinggoy Estrada as the cute Constantino. Candle bearers will be the likes of Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid and probably the resurrected Gringo Honasan.

But what about the current issues now gripping the nation? Shall we sweep the Garci tapes under the rug and discontinue the probe into the "jueteng" illegal lottery payoffs as divisive of the country that has been stagnating in the meantime?

The investigations of these matters both in the House of Representatives and the Senate are getting nowhere, but that does not mean we should forget them altogether. The serious questions against the integrity of the President of the Philippines should not be simply dismissed on the ground of political expediency.

The evidence so far submitted against her militates against their abrupt termination that will in effect absolve her of the serious charges. Many share the view that she should be acquitted or convicted after their examination on the merits in an impeachment trial that she herself proposes and welcomes.

President Arroyo is so sure that there will not be enough members to constitute the one-third needed to impeach her in the House of Representatives or the two-thirds needed to convict her in the Senate. But she may not be considering the effect of public opinion on impeachment proceedings, as demonstrated in the Estrada case. The respondent had the numbers in his pocket until Tessie Oreta wiggled on the Senate floor.

But that alternative, besides being a political weapon rather than a legal inquiry, may take too long to decide the burning questions of the day. Did President Arroyo order Virgilio Garcillano to falsify the presidential election to make her win by a margin of a million votes? Did she and her family receive payola in the millions of pesos from the jueteng lords?

Ms Arroyo vehemently says no and has the Armed Forces to back her up. A considerable number of people, not necessarily allied with the political opposition, say yes and are demanding her resignation now. Ms Arroyo's supporters say follow the process and impeach her if you will. Those who oppose her argue that impeachment will be a charade with the results to be pronounced by her loyal lackeys.

If President Arroyo will truly read the will of the people, she should recognize that they no longer have confidence in her and want her to step down. Those who are urging her to stay put are protecting only their own interests and not the future of the nation. The turmoil now swirling around us may get graver and lead to, God forbid, even bloody confrontation. She could spare us from that evitable fate and give our country peace with her voluntary resignation.