By Carlos H. Conde
Cyberdyaryo
May 1, 2001
THE Philippines has been thrust into the realm of the surreal, validating once again what a writer once said–that this country is a perfect setting for a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel.
Ironic is too tame a word to describe the events that transpired in the week just past, especially on Sunday, the 100th day of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration.
On that day, there were indications that Malaca�ang had finally admitted to itself that the crisis spawned by the arrest of former President Joseph Estrada on April 26 was much more serious than initially thought. Amid denials of rumors that some generals had defected to the Estrada camp, the Armed Forces high command held a closed-door meeting for hours.
Malaca�ang barred reporters from going inside the Palace. A “psy-war committee” was formed. Later in the day, officials identified with the Palace called on the public to start marching to the Mendiola Bridge, and many of them did, resurrecting a familiar scene near Malaca�ang, but this time not to disparage the Palace occupant, but to protect her from Estrada’s forces.
A few minutes before the 100th day elapsed, Jaime Cardinal Sin went on radio, calling his flock again, this time to go to Mendiola– not to Edsa–to help protect the seat of government.
Turned upside down
The irony is impossible to miss, and not only because it was Cardinal Sin who had discouraged the public during People Power II from marching to Mendiola. It was more because, in one fell swoop, some of the things that People Power II had represented were suddenly turned upside down.
The anti-Estrada forces have marched to Mendiola to protect Malaca�ang, while it is the pro-Estrada ones who are digging their heels in at Edsa this time. The situation has taken on mind-boggling, if not outrageous, proportions.
Of course, something like this almost always begs the question: What went wrong? The Filipino people spoke at People Power II, so why are many of them now disparaging it and what it stood for?
Questions like that are inevitably followed by self-examination so that, now, many of those who participated in People Power II, particularly those from the progressive and civil society groups, are on soul-searching mode.
The consensus that emerged, at least among leaders of the Left interviewed by CyberDyaryo, is that:
* There was a failure during the anti-Estrada struggle to win over and enlighten the Filipinos who idolize Estrada;
* This was the result of the decades-old neglect of the poor so that they are now finding a venue in the so-called Edsa III to air their grievances, no matter how misguided, and;
* The three-month old Arroyo administration failed in many respects to deal with the potential problems Estrada would pose.
Bolder initiative
The last is of particular interest to the leftist leaders because they are convinced that had the Arroyo administration taken a “bolder initiative” to address issues that confront the masses and to deal with the problem that is Estrada, the country wouldn’t have found itself in this predicament.
Satur Ocampo, a nominee of the party-list group Bayan Muna, says the Arroyo administration was not bold enough to seize on the opportunities presented by People Power II. “Instead of immediately addressing the concerns of the poor, the Arroyo administration busied itself with solidifying its hold over the armed forces and the police,” Ocampo says.
Fr. Joe Dizon of the Estrada Resign Movement says that instead of implementing whatever practical initiatives to address the needs of the poor, which comprise most of Estrada’s supporters, Arroyo busied herself aping the publicity stunts of Estrada. “She was preoccupied with photo-ops,” the priest says.
More importantly, the failure of the new administration to immediately go after Estrada and his cronies, possibly by freezing their accounts, allowed the Estrada camp to plot “Edsa III.” “Unlike the Marcoses, whose ill-gotten assets were frozen, the ill-gotten wealth of Estrada and his cronies are liquid and could easily be used to finance the rallies at Edsa. Worse, the administration has even accommodated the likes of Estrada crony Danding Cojuangco,” Ocampo says.
Liza Maza, secretary-general of the militant women’s group Gabriela, bewails the failure of the Arroyo administration to neutralize Estrada’s “social base”–the millions of poor Filipinos who are increasingly becoming disgruntled toward the elitist government.
“This is the mass base of Estrada and he uses them to further his agenda. But the government did not do anything to counter this. It doesn’t have a doable and comprehensive program to address their problems such as livelihood and housing. Not even a promise that Mrs. Arroyo would see to it that her government would address their needs,” Maza says. In short, the government either misread Estrada’s constituents or it just didn’t care.
Target Estrada cronies
Moreover, Maza says the government should have targeted the cronies of Estrada “because they are the ones financing this (Edsa III).”
Crispin Beltran of the Kilusang Mayo Uno agrees. “The government failed to deal with Estrada’s ringleaders and cronies. Now, they are out there, misleading the Filipino people.”
“It was a grievous mistake on the part of the government that it did nothing to break up Estrada’s power base. Neither did the government sustain and maximize the democratic impetus created by People Power II,” Beltran said.
And because Estrada’s cronies and friends, many of them with the Puwersa ng Masa, have gained the upper-hand in this battle for the minds of the public, Gabriela’s Maza says the real issue in this crisis has been beclouded by class-war rhetoric. The real issue, she explains, is that Estrada’s supporters, who could be at Edsa because of legitimate demands, are pushing the wrong solution: Estrada’s reinstatement.
“How can his reinstatement be a solution, when the corruption and incompetence of his administration were some of the reasons why the masses remain poor?” Maza says.
To be fair, the Arroyo administration is barely three months old. “She was not prepared for this,” Ocampo says of the President. Still, he adds, “it would have helped if the new dispensation had offered a vision to the people. She, in fact, behaved exactly as a transition president, so that her leverage was limited. She should have acted more boldly.”
All not lost for Arroyo
But the leftist leaders are convinced that all is not lost for Arroyo and her administration. “She should deal with Estrada and his cronies. She should see to it that the trial of Estrada proceeds and that charges against his cronies be filed,” Ocampo says.
“What is imperative right now is that the government not back down and resolutely push for Estrada’s arraignment, trial and eventual sentencing and punishment,” Beltran says. He believes that “once Estrada’s power base–the gathering of Estrada cronies, financial backers, and officials of local government units–is dismantled or at the least mortally weakened, then the pro-Estrada forces will also lose all capacity to continue their destructive actions.”
On the socio-economic front, which is a more substantial issue if the country is to erode the mass base of the charismatic Estrada, Beltran, Maza and Ocampo say that the Arroyo administration should heed the demands of the poor.
Ocampo says the government can redeem itself by seeing to it, for example, that the 20-point agenda of the basic sectors as represented by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, be considered and implemented. “We submitted this to her when she was still vice-president and on Day One of her presidency. But Malacanang did nothing about it,” Ocampo says. The 20-point agenda include mainly anti-poverty programs.
Four-point agenda
Beltran, for his part, proposed a “four-point agenda”:
1. Seek Arroyo’s commitment that her government will be more active, forceful and determined in pushing for the completion of the goals of People Power 2, mainly the prosecution of Estrada and his cronies.
2. Demand her government’s commitment to concretely address the demands of the poor and working people, and that she will implement immediate economic and social reforms that will attack the problems of unemployment and poverty. Primary among labor’s demand is a P125 across-the-board wage increase; the scrapping of the contractualization policy and other forms of flexible labor; and a stop to the mass layoffs of workers on the one hand; and the creation of new jobs.
3. Stop the demolition of the homes of workers and other urban poor unless the security of their domicile and livelihood is assured. Connected to this is the demand to junk the business-oriented mass housing program of the previous administration and implement a planned, comprehensive, and sustainable housing program for the workers and other urban poor.
4. Ensure the adequate and low-cost, if not free, provision of vital social services like water, electricity, schooling and hospitalization especially for the unemployed and other urban poor.
To be sure, these recommendations will take a long time to implement. But the leftist leaders are convinced that, with political will and a sincere desire to uplift the human condition of the poor, the Arroyo administration can go a long way with these. The key is that the government must have a vision grounded on the real needs of the poor, they say.
It will probably take more than that for Estrada and his ilk to disappear, but that should be a good start to finally take the Philippines out of the realm of the surreal.
– CyberDyaryo
