By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — After nine years in power, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has left the Malacanang palace. She is no longer cloaked with presidential immunity, which she and her allies had used to shield her from corruption charges, human-rights violations and other alleged crimes against the Filipino people.
Up to her last weeks in office, impunity presented itself. For two consecutive days, journalists Jesiderio Camangyan, radio anchor of Sunrise FM in Davao Oriental, and Joselito Agustin of dzJC Aksyon Radyo in Laoag City, were shot dead. After the elections, human-rights worker Benjamin Bayles of Negros Occidental, union member Edward Panganiban of Laguna and Bayan Muna member Jim Gales of Davao were murdered in separate incidents.
In the past nine years, journalists and activists have become easy targets for assassination. According to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), 104 journalists have been murdered under the Arroyo regime. Human-rights group Karapatan recorded 1,190 victims of extrajudicial killings under the Arroyo regime, from January 2001 to March 2010.
There had been 205 victims of enforced disappearances, 1,028 victims of torture, and hundreds of thousands were forcibly displaced in rural areas as a result of military operations.
These killings and other atrocities continue despite international condemnation and local protests. In fact, just this month, a five-member delegation of the Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines had gone to Geneva and made oral interventions at the 14th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. They told the world that Arroyo’s counterinsurgency program has been the bloodiest and most vicious since martial law years.
Arroyo, as commander in chief of the armed forces, clearly condoned the killings. The absence of culpability of the known masterminds and the rewards given to the worst violators had emboldened the perpetrators even more to commit abuses.
Such impunity led to one of the greatest tragedies under the Arroyo regime, the Ampatuan massacre.
Closely allied with the Arroyos, the Ampatuans thought they could get away with the murder of 57 individuals, including 31 journalists. Already, the cases filed against the warlords of Maguindanao are at risk of going down the drain.
Impunity also persists in corruption and other scandals.
Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo have also pocketed billions in various anomalous deals in the past nine years.
Using money, Arroyo was able to suppress seven impeachment cases filed against her. Using deception and repression, she was able to quell public outrage against her regime.
Following the expose on the “Hello Garci” election fraud scandal, Arroyo issued Proclamation 1017 and arrested leaders of the opposition, including the late Anakpawis congressman and labor leader Crispin Beltran. She also issued what was called a calibrated preemptive response (CPR) to break up mass protests.
To cover up for the cases of corruption and other scandals, Arroyo signed Executive Order 464 barring government officials from testifying before public inquiries without her approval.
Just recently, the Ombudsman, a close friend of the First Gentleman and a known ally of the president, absolved Arroyo and her husband from the aborted multimillion national broadband network deal with the Chinese telecom company ZTE.
Doubled Wealth
Arroyo’s declared wealth more than doubled in the past nine years. In 2001, when Arroyo took power, her total wealth was about P67 million. As of July 2009, according to her declared statement of assets and liabilities, her wealth has reached P144 million.
The “Jose Pidal” account that was exposed in 2003 had P321 million and the Arroyos’ real-estate properties in the United States totaled $7.1 million. The profligacy of the Arroyos, highlighted by that $20,000-dinner at Le Cirque in New York in August 2009, has enraged the poor and the hungry.
For how could she stomach the expensive dinner when back home, hunger has reached record numbers, with almost one in four Filipino households going hungry? In a 2009 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Philippines ranked 34th on a scale of zero to 100 among 84 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI).
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November 19th, 2011 at 1:15 am
she deserve to put in jail
November 19th, 2011 at 1:23 am
WE SHOULD CHANGE OUR SUPREME COURT IT’S THE COURT FOR ARROYO ALONE SILA LAGI ANG DAHILAN NG UPSIDE DOWN NG ATING BANSA ALL THEIR DECISION IS AGAINST FROM OUR GOVERNMENT HALATANG TINATALO NG SUPREME COURT ANG GOBYERNO PARA MAG KAGULO TAYO
November 23rd, 2011 at 2:52 am
[...] A Look Back at Arroyo’s Many Sins and Why She Should Pay RELATED CONTENT [...]
November 23rd, 2011 at 4:49 am
I’ve seen something like this on many comments, but this is more informative because of the comparison to other prez and the explanation of some items. She is a true parasite to every sense of the word.
There was one comment that I read on other comment area that if GMA is proven to have rigged the election, that makes her an illegitimate president which makes the appointment of Corona illegal or invalid. If there’s anyone that will fiercely fight for GMA that would be the Chief Justice because his job is on the line.
November 23rd, 2011 at 7:47 am
She should pay for all of her heartless act. against the people. living like a king and marjority of the citizen are jobless, no food to eat, basic needs are compromised and even owning your own a good place to stay in your own country is hard. What have you done to your country ? It is very hard to see Philippines move forward if this justice system do not punish all those people who are at Sin.
November 23rd, 2011 at 7:55 am
The honorable members of the Supreme Court need not look back. Everyone of them witnessed how these graft-ridden and corrupt government transactions, these massive electoral cheating and these brazen killings of civilians have taken place during the Arroyo reign. These are more than enough reason for the DOJ to issue the WLO against the Arroyos in the effort to prevent their escape from justice while at the same time protecting their constitutional right to confront their accusers before our courts of law. But the magistrates were hoodwinked by their gratitude for the one who appointed them to their high seats of authority. They never saw the difference between depriving one of the liberty to travel and merely suspending that right for a better and just purpose. The TRO, in this case, is unwarranted and waywardly misguided.
November 28th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Si GMA at Corona ay katutubong Pampanggueno, kasama ng mga Puno,mga Pineda, atbp. Ano ang magiting katangian nila? Magnakaw, magpasikat, magdaya at pakitang NAKAISA laban sa kapwa Pilipino, at sa ganito sila ay makilalang SIKAT sa kanilang kamag-anak at Kapwa Pampanggueno na BALIw ngunit sila ay hinahangaan nila.
.
December 5th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
There is nothing that can be done to the government officials but you can help the poor and suffering if you want to but none of you will.
Click on http://www.facebook.com/feedthepoor2
to see how you can refuse to help the poor and suffering.
December 13th, 2011 at 8:13 am
I think the corona story itself now is a great sign that the GMA army is slowing being torn apart a new start is I pray coming for all. let the seante impeach him now