Malacañang said that there are no political motives in the suspension of Mayor Binay and even that of Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao “Pewee” Trinidad. The spokespersons of the administration said that they were merely implementing the law. A close scrutiny of what happened to Binay, however, shows that this is not a case of implementing the rule of law but of bending it to suit the self-serving interests of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.

If there is anyone who should be suspended to facilitate an impartial and thorough investigation of cases of corruption and fraud, it should be Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.  In her case, the evidence stared us in the face (and irritated our ears as we listened to the “Hello Garci” wiretapped conversations).  Even Macapagal-Arroyo could not deny it entirely and tried to mitigate the impact by admitting to an act of impropriety through a televised national address.

The charge against Binay is based on his alleged hiring of ghost employees. Granting for the sake of argument that these were true, the act itself and the amount of money lost to the government are dwarfed (no pun intended) by the magnitude of the cases being thrown at the Arroyo family, among them the Jose Pidal account allegedly owned by Mike Arroyo, the president’s husband; the bank accounts in Germany allegedly owned by the Arroyo family; the use of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) funds in the 2004 elections; the stealing of fertilizer funds; and the overpriced construction of the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.

Despite all these, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo refuses to step down, be suspended or be impeached. (Of course she would never be proven guilty of any wrongdoing as long as her ruling party has the numbers in the House of Representatives.) In Binay’s case, he was suspended even if his guilt has not yet been proven.   

Pattern of repression

The significance of Binay’s case is not merely confined to Makati City. When taken in the context of the national situation, his ordeal reflects the pattern of repression being experienced by those who dare to be critical of the current administration.

The pattern of repression is clear. Opposition lawmakers are denied funds. Whistle-blowers, as well as media persons reporting on corruption cases, are charged with libel. Recalcitrant local officials are also removed. However, the most blatant and vicious forms of political repression are being experienced by the Left. 

Rep. Crispin Beltran of Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) is still technically imprisoned while government prosecutors are trying everything from deception to fabricating evidences and producing “witnesses” to keep him there. Reps. Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño, and Joel Virador of Bayan Muna (People First), Liza Masa of Gabriela Women’s Party-list and Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis, together with six other officials of these party list groups, are facing trumped-up charges of rebellion. As of this writing, there are 764 political activists killed since 2001 when Macapagal-Arroyo became president.

All those who seek the ouster of Macapagal-Arroyo from Malacanang are contained, harassed, intimidated, removed, imprisoned or even killed. On the other hand, those who support the continued stay of the administration enjoy the perks of being close to the powers-that-be.

Hell-bent or hell-sent?

The Arroyo administration is hell-bent (or hell-sent, depending on one’s perspective) on keeping itself in power.

It is determined to push through with changing the 1987 Constitution through a people’s initiative to give Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the power of both president and prime minister until 2010. After that, she could be declared prime minister for life.

Amending the Constitution to remove all restrictions to foreign trade and investment is meant to please the administration’s benefactors, particularly the U.S., as well as big foreign and local businesses. The removal of restrictions on the establishment of foreign military bases, the continued stay of foreign troops and the bringing into the country of nuclear weapons would please the U.S. even more.

The removal of any limit to the tenure of local officials and lawmakers is meant to satiate the greed for power of her allies.

Critical local officials can block the administration’s plans to verify the signatures it collected (or fabricated, based on allegations of the opposition). They can also spoil the planned manipulation of plebiscite results. It should therefore not be surprising that the administration is determined to remove or immobilize them.

On the other hand, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is still exerting pressure on opposition lawmakers in case they would have to ask Congress to convene itself as a constituent assembly if the people’s initiative fails.

Meanwhile, the obliteration of the Left is meant to quell opposition from the parliament of the streets not only against charter change but also against the continued stay of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.

Removing the corrupt

While those guilty of corruption should be punished by removal from office, who should be removed first to serve as example to other corrupt officials?  In the first place, who committed the worst crime of corruption? Who used the taxpayers’ money for their personal gain?

Who corrupted the core institutions and processes of government in order to stay in power?  In particular, who used the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the manipulation of 2004 election returns? 

Who favored the promotion AFP and PNP personnel who sacrificed their integrity and honor by helping their benefactors cheat in the 2004 elections? Who committed the most scandalous form of cheating and whose telephone conversations with an election official were recorded while doing so?

Who circumvented the law in order to go after critics and justify illegal acts? Who made the House a mere rubber stamp to promote self-serving interests?   

If we are really serious about removing the corrupt government officials, then there is no mistaking who should go first. Bulatlat

BACK TO TOP ■  PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION  ■   COMMENT

© 2006 Bulatlat ■  Alipato Media Center

Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.