Arroyo-Villar axis of power

EDITORIAL

With the recent announcement by former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson of his support for Sen. Manny Villar’s presidential bid, it signals the final movement of the allies of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from Lakas-Kampi- CMD (LKC) to the Villar’s Nacionalista Party (NP).

Although the exodus has been going on in earnest for sometime now, Chavit’s coming out for Villar is timed to coincide with the start of the local campaigns which began last March 26.

If there is one politician that can claim closeness to the First Family, particularly Gloria, it is Chavit. Chavit has been an ally and a friend of Gloria since she was a Senator. When Gloria became vice president, they remained very close, politically and socially. So it did not come as a surprise that Chavit turned against -- or betrayed -- his other friend, President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, whom he accused as the “lord of all jueteng lords” in October 2000. Chavit’s whistle blowing led to the impeachment of Erap by the House of Representatives then headed by Speaker Manny Villar.

But before the Senate could remove the impeached Erap, Erap was deposed in a “people power” revolution which many believed was actually a coup d’etat involving Gloria herself, backed by the military and members of the Supreme Court.

In addition to Chavit, several high-ranking and powerful families have endorsed Villar. Recently, Bukidnon Governor Jose Ma. Zubiri and the Garcia dynasty of Cebu openly supported Villar. Zubiri, to the dismay of his sons Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri and Rep. Jose Ma. Zubiri III -- who are steadfast supporters of LKC’s standard bearer Gilbert Teodoro -- brought with him 22 mayors to the Villar camp.

The exodus of Gloria’s allies to the Villar camp lends credence to the belief that Villar and Gloria had forged an “unholy alliance.” People are convinced that Villar is Gloria’s “secret candidate.” As a consequence, Villar is called “Money Villarroyo,” a moniker that stuck to him to this day.

If you look at the trail Gloria’s allies have taken, they’re all leading to the Villar camp. It did not come then as a surprise that Gloria did not attend the kickoff rally of LKC’s standard bearer Teodoro. To date, Gloria has yet to be seen campaigning for Teodoro.

With Gloria’s allies now rooting for Villar, the presidential derby is turning out to be a battle between Villar as the “de facto” administration candidate and Sen. Noynoy Aquino as the leading opposition challenger.

Although Noynoy’s lead over Villar in recent poll surveys had been increasing gradually -- it is now 13% over Villar -- there are some serious concerns that election cheating similar to the “Hello Garci” massive cheatings in 2004 in Mindanao would be repeated in the May 10 elections. Recently, a news report stated that Comelec disclosed the discovery of 704,542 voters with double or multiple registration records.

However, Archbishop Oscar Cruz of the Kontra-Daya watchdog group said that ‘the voters’ list is padded by no less than five million. That’s 10% of the total registered voters. Could this be a harbinger to a massive cheating operation in the forthcoming elections on May 10?”

If there is going to be election cheating on May 10, Mindanao -- like in 2004 and 2007 --would most likely be the place for a massive “dagdag-bawas” (add-subtract) cheating operation. In 2004, Gloria’s rival Fernando Poe Jr. got zero vote -- which is statistically improbable -- in many towns in Maguindanao. With the recent dismissal of rebellion charges against Gloria’s political allies, the Ampatuans, I wouldn’t be surprised if the suspected Comelec “cheating syndicate” would once again generate the necessary number of votes for Gloria’s “secret candidate” to win the presidential elections.

With the newly forged “unholy alliance” between Gloria and Villar, all that stands between them and colossal political power is the election of Villar to the presidency and Gloria to a congressional seat representing Pampanga’s second district. Gloria is expected to win handily and, consequently, would be chosen Speaker of the House Representatives in the next Congress. In the case of Villar, since he is lagging behind Noynoy, cheating in the election, according to pundits, would be his ticket to power. With Gloria’s help, he just might succeed in pulling it off.

With Villar as President and Gloria as Speaker of the House, an “axis of power” -- never seen before in the history of the Philippines -- would emerge. And soon after, with Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s dream of amending the constitution to change the form of government to a parliamentary system coming to fruition, the Arroyo-Villar "axis of power" would be formidable and their political machine would be impregnable.

Indeed, like most parliamentary forms of government, Villar as head of State and Gloria as head of government could be in power for as long as their “unholy alliance” maintains its supremacy in the Parliament. With Villar’s and Gloria’s billions, their “axis of power” could dole out patronage and wealth to their allies in the Parliament. That’s cheaper to buy than the 50 million Filipino voters.

But that would not happen if Villar was defeated in the presidential elections. A few days ago, Noynoy said that “President Arroyo’s reported plan to become House speaker is possible only under a Villar administration because of the ‘unholy alliance’ between the government and the camp of Nacionalista Party’s Sen. Manuel Villar.” Noynoy said that under his administration, “there is no way Arroyo will become Speaker because the LP’s allies would not allow it.”

As the presidential campaign enters its final month, the people will soon exercise their sacred right and supreme power to elect their next president. However, this may also be the last time for them to vote directly for a president because if Villar and Gloria won in the elections, an Arroyo-Villar “axis of power” would supplant the sovereignty of the people.