A history of betrayal

PERRYSCOPE
Perry Diaz

After the failed attempt to cast doubt on the accuracy and veracity of the May 10 presidential elections with the video interview of “Robin” -- a.k.a. “Koala Boy” -- one wonders if this was all part of a NO-PROC (no-proclamation) scenario reputedly concocted by people associated with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

With the subsequent actions of Gloria’s henchmen, it seems that the presidential race is far from over, in spite of the fact that President-apparent Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III commands a five-million vote advantage over his nearest opponent, former president Joseph “Erap“ Estrada. For some reason, it gives me a creepy feeling that NO-PROC is still in the works.

Consider that Speaker Prospero Nograles plans to move back the proclamation from June 4 to June 30, the last day of the current Congress which is also the last of Gloria’s presidency. He was quoted as saying that “the Senate and the House of Representatives, convening as the national board of canvassers, would proclaim the winning president and vice president ‘on or before high noon of June 30.’ ” But what if Congress fails to proclaim Noynoy by noon on June 30?

What exactly was on Nograles’ mind by deferring the proclamation until noon on June 30? That’s a 26-day delay! And what if there was no quorum in Congress on June 30 to proclaim the president and vice president?

Imagine Noynoy at the Luneta grandstand in front of tens of thousands cheering Filipinos waiting to witness the historic event.

Imagine the presence of foreign heads of states and dignitaries sitting behind Noynoy in the grandstand waiting for the official word from Congress.

Imagine Nograles and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile adjourning Congress for lack of quorum, never to meet again since it was the last day of the current Congress.

Imagine Gloria stepping down from the presidency only to assume it again as holdover president until the new president and vice president were proclaimed by the new Congress.

And imagine what could possibly ensue: people power, military takeover, coup d’etat, chaos, pandemonium, anarchy… and, possibly, bloodshed?

The power vacuum created by a NO-PROC scenario could bring the country back to the time of our fight for independence -- the unfinished revolution of 1896. The Katipunan was making progress notwithstanding the superiority of the trained and well-armed colonial army. But the political warfare between the Magdiwang faction of Supremo Andres Bonifacio and the Magdalo faction of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo led to armed confrontation between the two groups. They failed to coalesce their forces and fight side by side against the enemy. In the end the revolution lost its purpose and the leaders lost their souls to greed and thirst for power.

Fast forward to 1986. The “people power” revolution -- known as EDSA 1 -- deposed the tyrant Ferdinand Marcos and installed a revolutionary government led by Cory Aquino. But her presidency was rocked by coup d’etats perpetrated by military factions loyal to Marcos. Cory survived the assaults on her presidency and moved to change the constitution, which to this day is the supreme law of the land.

But in 2001, a coup d’etat disguised as “people power” revolution -- EDSA 2 -- ousted president Estrada and installed then vice president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in his place. It was a clean surgical execution made possible with the betrayal of Erap by his Armed Forces Chief of Staff and the “blessing” of the Supreme Court.

Within an hour of informing Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. of the removal of Estrada, Gloria was sworn in by Davide as “president,” not “acting president” as Erap was made to believe. So, in a swift and unscripted act of judicial discretion -- or indiscretion -- Gloria became “president.”

Gloria’s Machiavellian machinations lend credence to the leeriness of many people who believe that it’s not over until Gloria is off stage.

People would still remember when Gloria, back in December 2003, vowed in front of the shrine of Dr. Jose Rizal that she will not run for president in the 2004 elections. Not only did she break her promise, she allegedly cheated in the elections to make sure that she would remain in power for the next six years.

And when the end of her presidency was within sight, she moved to extend her rule by amending the constitution. She ran a campaign to gather signatures for a people’s initiative to replace the presidential system with a parliamentary form of government. She got more signatures than what was required. All that remained to be done for her to stay in power as Prime Minister of the Parliament was the Supreme Court’s “blessing,” just like it did for her in 2001. However, in November 2006, the Supreme Court, with a razor-thin 8-7 majority, issued a ruling penned by Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio rejecting the people’s initiative. It was a death blow to Gloria’s dream of extending her term of office.

But Gloria didn’t give up. She tried another approach. When her presidency was coming to an end, she ran for a congressional district seat representing her province, Pampanga. She said that she wanted to pursue charter change in Congress. She probably thought that with 159 congressmen under Lakas-Kampi- CMD, she’d be a shoo-in for the Speakership.

However, that’s predicated on all of them reelected last May 10. But with just a little over 100 congressmen allied with her who made it to the next Congress, she doesn’t have the number to win the Speakership. And with Noynoy becoming president, it is anticipated that Gloria would be betrayed by many of her party mates who would join or go into alliance with Noynoy’s Liberal Party. She knows how the presidency works and come July 1, she will be outside looking in -- just another member of Congress begging for pork.

Gloria knows what “betrayal” is. She studied it and used it as a means to an end. Indeed, she was so good at it that it would have made Lucrezia Borgia look like a convent girl. And if Niccolo Machiavelli were alive today, he would have rewritten “The Prince” and incorporated in it some of the things Gloria has done.

The question is: Is she going to put into play a NO-PROC scenario? Gloria has a penchant for pushing her luck too far. But this is one scenario that could unleash a backlash against her. A NO-PROC scenario would not be seen as just against Noynoy, it would be construed as against the Filipino people. The people have spoken -- loud and clear -- in the last elections and any attempt to extinguish their hopes and desire for change would be the ultimate betrayal which could ignite a “people power” revolution that would make EDSA 1 and EDSA 2 look like fire drills.

If Gloria wants history to treat her with some kindness, she should take a graceful bow when the final curtain falls. (PerryDiaz@gmail. com)