A JOKE IT IS!
MANILA, DECEMBER 21, 2011
(TRIBUNE) EDITORIAL - During the Christmas party of the
Liberal Party (LP) as one recount goes, Noynoy and Mar, Philippine politics'
version of Laurel and Hardy, kept addressing Franklin Drilon as SP, which is the
acronym for Senate President.
Asked about it, amid the rumors of a coup plot in the Senate, Drilon said
that the address was a joke and that it was their way of making "cariño" to him.
With the recent plotting and maneuverings undertaken to fast-track the arrest
of former President Gloria Arroyo and the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato
Corona, emanating from Malacañang, would a plot to take the Senate leadership be
considered far off?
And Drilon's claim that the address to him by the top jokers of the land,
Noynoy and Mar, is what they exactly do best would be hard to take.
Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile himself may have caught wind of the LP
"joke" as he and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada have been speaking
lately about certain members of the chamber craving for the top Senate post in
what appeared to be statements meant to preempt a brewing plot.
Estrada even pledged allegiance to Enrile that was tantamount to a
confirmation of a serious attempt to oust the Senate President. Only lately,
however, that the issue had boiled over that Estrada says he did not expressly
say that a coup was afoot.
The Senate has been constituted into an impeachment court to try Chief
Justice Renato Corona whom Noynoy wants removed as head of the Supreme Court
(SC) and an impeachment court headed by the Liberal's SP would be an ideal
setup.
The agenda of Noynoy and his allies is to convict Corona of the eight
Articles of Impeachment against him and this should be done at the soonest
possible time.
Ramrodding laws and the Constitution has become a constant practice of the
administration of Noynoy to attain its agenda of supposedly cleaning up
government but which is clearly appearing to be laying the ground for the
establishment of a dictatorship.
The signs for a totalitarian regime are already there. The basic guarantees
of check and balance in the Constitution is being assaulted with the executive
seeking control of the judiciary and a part of the legislative that has yet to
capitulate on its independence.
The Palace had shown it can move very fast but it remains aware of public
sentiment which Noynoy has been bragging about based on his supposed high
popularity rating that is his license for disregarding the law and the
Constitution in his made-up crusade.
The Yellow mob of Noynoy has been working hard to create the perception that
the SC is a damaged and partisan institution, and that Noynoy, as stated by his
attack dog, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, wants to "reclaim the SC for the
people" by impeaching all 10 Arroyo justices.
Yet as Noynoy and his yellows are believers in surveys, such as the November
suvey which gave Noynoy a high 72 percent approval rating, the SC as an
institution, obtained a 52 to 53 percent approval and trust ratings, which gives
lie to Noynoy's claim that he has to reclaim the high court for the people, when
he really means is for him to "reclaim" the high court for himself — to serve
his, and not the people's interest, which explains the SP "joke."
But the Senate coup apparently has lost steam after Jinggoy blew the lid off
it and earned unsavory reactions from the public.
It also apparently backfired after more people learned that Enrile is widely
supported within the Senate and that his rivals were short of reviled by the
Senate constituency.
Speed is needed by Noynoy to do what he is set out to accomplish since his
efforts have huge costs in his popularity that is fast being eroded.
The end game is apparently to make Noynoy a form of a benevolent dictator
patterned after maybe Lee Kuan Yew or Mahathir Mohammad.
Well, such an idea would be truly a joke.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
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