Entry: CBCP saves the day for Gloria Sunday, July 10, 2005



MANILA – The highly influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Phils., which had been widely expected to join the growing calls for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign, unexpectedly issued a statement yesterday (July 10) saying they were not joining the clamor.

Analysts had predicted that had the CBCP demanded the President’s resignation, the Arroyo administration would have been done for.

The bishops’ statement instead said there were many options that Mrs. Arroyo could take.

The President apparently knew the unexpected direction the CBCP would take. She took a stroll with her youngest son and his family at the Roxas Boulevard Boardwalk, her first public appearance of note since Friday when the political crisis reached its peak and she was abandoned by ally after ally.

President Arroyo has been receiving support from a greater number of supporters, negating the exit of such allies as former President Corazon Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon of the Liberal Party, and the Makati Business Club.

Former President Fidel Ramos, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza also of the Liberal Party, and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued statements in support of Mrs. Arroyo.

Yesterday, more supporters publicly declared that they would back the President, with an added threat that they would act if she were removed by force.

Political allies from Cagayan Valley said they were sending “a strong message” to Mrs. Arroyo’s critics that they would stop the delivery of agriculture produce to the National Capital Region if they removed her by force.

Isabel Rep. Edwin Uy said, “We can do it. People in Metro Manila will suffer.”

The region, he said, “can survive without imperial Manila.”

The phrase “imperial Manila” has been used by other leaders of other regions as a means of telling the anti-Arroyo leaders that they meant business. It was first used by Cebuano leaders in the past, and Cebu remains solidly behind the President.

Meanwhile, Mindanao leaders moved another step closer to setting up a Mindanao Republic by setting a meeting this week that would iron out the mechanisms of the proposed republic which would also be set up as soon as Mrs. Arroyo is forced out.

But the opposition remained adamant in demanding that the President step down. After last Friday’s rally by the United Opposition led by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, the left-leaning Bagong Alyansang Makabayan announced that they would organize a rally on Wednesday, July 13, at the same site – the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in the middle of the Makati Central Business District, where a statue of Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino stands.

“Hopefully, we can organize at least 50,000 people,” according to Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes.

 

COMMENT: President Arroyo may be stronger than she is aware of. The massive show of support she has been receiving outside Metro Manila should be enough to convince her of her position. She is not popular in the metropolis, but the clamor for her to quit is not that great either.

This means that the silent majority are not totally convinced that she is guilty of any crime or wrongdoing, as the opposition has been insisting.

The opposition, on the other hand, has failed to bring in the numbers. The 50,000 that Bayan seeks is a mere one-tenth of the rallyists who took part in Edsa II, which installed Mrs. Arroyo vice Joseph Estrada. In fact, 5,000 has been the largest crowd they have gathered, with an unknown number paid to attend. That’s one percent of the Edsa II crowd.

Conventional wisdom says President Arroyo needs the backing of the Church and the military to stay in power. The CBCP’s unexpected stand can be interpreted as weak support from the Catholic Church, but support just the same. And with Mr. Ramos behind her, the majority of the military could also be deemed as being supportive of Mrs. Arroyo.

Getting rid of Mrs. Arroyo will not be easy. She survived the worst day of her crisis, which happened last Friday.
   3 comments

Aurelio Salvador
August 16, 2005   12:15 PM PDT
 
Mr Del Val, where are you from? personal circumstances?
L. Gonzales
July 11, 2005   10:13 PM PDT
 
This is what I would call passing through the hole of a needle. A near-miracle, in other words.

As a general principle, I have always been against the concept of the church interfering in the affairs of the government. But I guess we have embedded that as a tradition in our country, always looking up to our religious leaders for guidance, whether in our personal lives or in how our country should be run.

Elsewhere, as in the United States, there is a strict separation of church and state, and any crossing of that boundary is sure to bring about lawsuits, as in the recent Supreme Court case where the high tribunal issued a split ruling on the display in public of the 10 Commandments.

The CBBP statement appears, at least in the meatime, to cool the ardor of those asking for the president's scalp, which unfortunately include Cory Aquino, Senator Drilon, and the Makati business community. I just feel they got tossed into the swirling turn of events they had to align themselves on the side of the mob.

The best thing to do is what the CCBP had suggested - get the facts, instead of allegations, through a formal impeachment process. The president made it known she wanted this to acquit her good name.

That is a challenge the opposition forces should not ignore if they are serious in pursuing the truth, instead of pronouncing the president guilty without due process. The burden is now their side, and it's how democracy should work.
Bert Beltran
July 11, 2005   04:00 AM PDT
 
Would it be appropriate to call her the "Iron Lady" or the 'Teflon President?"

I'm surprised a lot of people have underestimated the ability of the president to tough it out and to hang on at
a time when most observers, partciularly from the media, have been predicting her downfall.

The support she gets from across the country and the inability of the opposition forces to mobilize the citizens strengthen my belief more than ever that she will stay as the president, surely a source of consternation to her critics who cannot pierce the armor of her seeming invincibility.

As you say, the support of former President Ramos and the "neutral stance" of the CCBP further fortify her in the days ahead. When I asw that news about the bishops' statement being flashed this morning on FOX News Channel,
I knew that she had dodged those critical bullets.

For whatever it is worth, Filipinos in America remain solidly behind President Arroyo. I think most of us here are simply tired of these recurring extravaganzas which just give the Philippines a black eye in the world community.

The consequences of a forced takeover by a bunch of scurrilous characters is what must worry a lof of Filipinos. There is no central figure around whom they can rally, which is the reason I think a lot of regions in the country are still preparing to distance themselves away from that hotbed of dirty politics and, as you say, imperialism - Manila.
That would be a national tragedy.

It may not be over yet, given the boisterous atmosphere, but President Arroyo has more reasons now to to feel assured she has weathered the big storms and will remain the one leader most Filipinos trust to be their president.

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