Sunday, July 24, 2005

Arangkada for July 25, 2005

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                SUD SA LIT-AG?

 

        Natinuod gyod ang kahadlok sa politikanhong oposisyon, nga maoy hinungdan nganong nanagana sila pagsubay sa ruta sa impeachment sa ilang paningkamot pagpalagpot ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa Malakanyang.   Gisalikway ni Presidente Arroyo ang impeachment complaint nga gipasaka sa House of Representatives pinaagi sa duha ka technicality:

v     Una, ang pasangil nga nanikas siya sa niaging eleksiyon tungod sa iyang pagsugo ni kanhi Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano pinaagi sa telepono pagmaniobra sa eleksiyon sa Mindanao nahitabo sa wa pa magsugod ang iyang termino niadtong udtok tutok sa Hunyo 30, 2004; ug

v     Ikaduha, Di mahimong gamiton ang kontrobersiyal nga "Hello Garci tapes" nga ebidensiya sa impeachment proceedings sa Kongreso batok niya sa way paglapas sa konstitusyon ug sa Anti-Wiretapping Act ( R.A. 4200).

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        Na-syut bang maru nga mga politikanhong kaatbang ni Presidente Arroyo sa iyang laang?   Human napakyas pagkumbinser sa kinabag-an sa katawhan pagmartsa sa kadalanan aron modason sa awhag para sa resignasyon sa presidente, magapos na ba sila karon sa proseso nga segurong mo-absuwelto sa sinumbong?

v     Segurong moinsistir ang Malakanyang nga di na makahimo ang oposisyon pag-usab sa orihinal (ug gihulagway nga huyang) nga impeachment complaint batok sa presidente;

v     Kon di kakolekta ang oposisyon og 79 botos, mahimong tungod kay wa matarung pag-andam ang kaso o tungod sa agresibong kampanya pagsuburno sa Palasyo sa mga kongresista, segurong idiretso pagbasura sa House Committee on Justice, nga gidominahan sa mga alyado ni Presidente Arroyo, tungod sa mga technicality nga nahisgutan sa ibabaw.

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        Sa pikas nga bahin, kumbinsido ba gyod si Presidente Arroyo nga mohilom ug mangiyugpos na lang ang kinabag-an sa katawhan kon di tumanon ang iyang saad pag-atubang sa impeachment complaint sa Kongreso?

Kinahanglan pa ba siyang pasabton nga wa pa manggawas sa kadalanan ang katawhan di tungod sa multi-milyones pesos nga kampanya sa sipsip nga mga politiko ug binayrang mga sakop sa media kon dili tungod kay nagpaabot sila nga mahibawo unsa gyoy tinuod nga nahitabo sa niaging eleksiyon, nga mahimo lang kon iyang tugotan nga makabuylo ang impeachment trial sa Senado?

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        Duna koy balita sa presidente:  Kon maklaro sa kadaghanan nga iyang luokon ang impeachment, sama nga nagsugod nag panggawas ang iyang pagkamang sa mga kongresista ug pagtanyag nila og P5 milyones nga balor sa kuwarta ug mga proyekto bugti sa di nila pagpirma sa impeachment complaint, di siya pasayloon sa katawhan nga hangtod karon nagpakahilom kay nihatag niya sa tanang kahigayonan pagpanalipod sa iyang kaugalingon.

        Kon maklaro nga di kaugpo ang impeachment, ang katawhan di mobalik sa ilang naandang mga gimbuhaton nga mora lag way nahitabo.   Hinunoa, di sila makapasaylo niya.

Mohukom sila base sa mga pasangil sa way pagpaabot sa detalyadong pagpanalipod sa presidente sa iyang kaugalingon.   [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Resignation is the Solution

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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.