THE aftermath of last week’s political disarray only serves to illustrate the materializating of the country that President Benigno Aquino III imagines he’s creating — and the one that actually exists.
Assigned into office on a message of frugal economy and honest government, Aquino who still continues to pitch the ideal of a “new era” now has the recent events in the Philippines to back his cause.
While suffering depression and stress from last week’s hullabaloo, Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (who was placed under hospital arrest last week after she was served an arrest warrant), now has a four by ten meters temporary detention facility waiting for her at the Southern Police District Headquarters in Taguig CIty.
Now that her electoral sabotage case is being tried, the former head of state, now cornered, has nowhere else to go once St. Luke’s Medical Center doctors gave the go signal for her transfer.
Despite prompt actions by the government, some still criticized the key players’ efforts to contribute to the “speedy” arrest of Arroyo.
Department of Justice (DoJ) Secretary Leila De Lima was censured for allegedly taking the matters too personal. The filing of charges of electoral sabotage by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), and the haste by which Pasay City Regional Trial Court Judge Jesus Mupas issued the warrant of arrest last Nov. 18 were deemed inhuman by Arroyo’s political allies.
Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan of Angeles City in Pampanga described the treatment of Arroyo as “clearly a product of political one-upmanship.”
“From an issue of health and the right to travel, the issue has transformed to a larger one – one that now challenges our constitutional, justice and legal processes and institutions,” he said.
For some political pundits however, this recent endeavor in the government is a milestone. The former president’s arrest is a turnaround from the Philippine politics’ questionable reputation which is long overdue.
The fight between Arroyo (constitutional rights) and the government (political justice) is a long haul.
The constitutionality of the creation of a Department of Justice (DoJ)-Commission on Elections (DoJ-Comelec) joint panel that conducted the preliminary investigation of the charges against Mrs. Arroyo has been challenged before the tribunal.
Eventually, it will be the Supreme Court which will decide whether Arroyo will remain under arrest.
As seen in the headlines, politics in the Philippines is in chaos. The fuss with Arroyo is only one thing. Where do we go from here?
Filipinos have signaled an inclination for a progressive ideal government – a system is committed to the common good, shared and personal responsibility, and finding opportunity for everyone. The outcome of this circumstance will decide whether this is where we actually move progressively forward.
While most people wait for events to unfold, important players in the Arroyo case are battered comprehensively with this intense political controversy.
In the past, the country was hammered when politics clashes with the justice system. This legal battle against Arroyo sheds a light – of a promise that maybe someday the Constitution’s promises may be redeemed, and that the systems supporting the Philippine society be made a more perfect union.
Filipinos are encouraged to take a critical view of their perception of society and reject the limitations of mainstream political thought, which are hegemonic, archaic, and subversive to the noble Filipino ideals of freedom, justice, and equality for all. If all goes well, fundamental changes in the interests of a just political and economic system may actually occur.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek Nov 23- 25, 2011 Sec A pg.6)
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