Source: Daily Inquirer
But fears of failed elections remain
By Christian V. Esguerra, Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Christine Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Amid fears of failed polls in May and a military takeover, spokespersons of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Palace officials Sunday insisted that she had no plans of extending her term beyond what was prescribed in the Constitution.
“Malacañang assured the public that (the President) will definitely step down on June 30,” said Charito Planas, Ms Arroyo’s deputy spokesperson.
“The tours she has been making around the country are her last-minute rounds to check that all her finished projects are being maintained and will be maintained, [and that] all ongoing projects are being continued and the unfinished ones to be assumed and continued by whoever will win in the coming polls,” Planas said in a statement.
The public may take that remark with a grain of salt because of a promise that Ms Arroyo broke. She announced on Dec. 30, 2002, in Baguio City that she had decided not to run for president in 2004, saying that her “political efforts can only result in never-ending divisiveness.”
Nine months later, Ms Arroyo changed her mind for what she called “a higher cause … to change society” in a way that, according to her, would “nourish our future.”
It was Planas herself who fueled speculation of a plot to extend Ms Arroyo’s stay in power with the support of the newly named Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, Gen. Delfin Bangit, and other generals loyal to him.
Possible takeover
Planas on Friday said that a military takeover was possible in case of a power vacuum due to a failure of elections (in which no newly elected president is declared and proclaimed by June 30.)
“There is a provision in the Constitution where the military can take over. That could be done,” she said.
To prove her point, Planas cited Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s earlier statement of a possible military takeover in case of failed elections.
Presidential candidate Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said Ms Arroyo should be the last person to think of ceding control of the government to a military junta.
“The very first action of a Chief Executive is to uphold the Constitution which clearly states the supremacy of civilian authority over the military. To let a military junta take control and do nothing is malfeasance,” said Aquino, who noted that Ms Arroyo could be liable for treason.
Undue anxiety
Aquino said he was shocked that Ms Arroyo was considering giving way to a junta in case of a failure of elections.
“At the very least, she (the President) should not cause undue anxiety among the populace,” Aquino said. “What is the purpose of raising this scenario? Are they conditioning our minds that this will be the inevitable outcome of a failure of elections?”
The Liberal Party standard-bearer said Planas was voicing out what Ms Arroyo had in mind.
But Gary Olivar, another deputy spokesperson of Ms Arroyo, said it was the political opposition that was creating its “own specter” to scare the “people about the so-called election failure in spite of the fact that this has never happened.”
Prospero Pichay, Ms Arroyo’s political adviser, said her detractors should not “read too much” into scenarios related to the country’s first nationwide automated elections.
“The fact that the President is running for Congress means that there will be elections,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Pichay said Malacañang had “full trust and confidence” in the Commission on Elections (Comelec), despite fears that the automated elections were bound to fail.
Planas said: “The government, through the Comelec, is up on its toes to address each problem, erase doubts and fears and assure the people of smooth, honest, orderly and credible elections this coming May.”
Move early
Still, Sen. Edgardo Angara urged the Church and business community to use their “prestige and moral influence” in averting a possible power vacuum after the elections.
Saying that “civilian authority” should move this early, Angara called for the election of a new Senate president among the senators serving until 2013.
Interviewed after he spoke on dzBB radio, Angara said all senators could meet and elect a new Senate president before the elections even if Congress was in recess.
He said the term of the new Senate president, who is not running in May, should not end on June 30. The new Senate head can then act as the interim President should the elections fail, he added.
Enrile, who is seeking reelection, is expected to step down on June 30 as Senate president, along with Ms Arroyo, Vice President Noli de Castro and Speaker Prospero Nograles.
“So we broke the succession line. There’s going to be a political vacuum,” Angara said.
“If the civilian authority does not prepare for this, the military would certainly come in because it does not want the country to end up in chaos,” he said.
Angara said many businessmen he had talked to had expressed anxiety and apprehension over the possible failure of elections.
Smooth transition
Even so, Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales assured the nation that he would not give illegal orders to the AFP to prolong Ms Arroyo’s stay in power.
“I know that our President will never issue an illegal order and I will never do so myself,” Gonzales said in a statement.
The defense chief also sought to dispel fears of a failure of elections that might lead to Ms Arroyo being installed as holdover president.
“Our term ends on June 30. We are all looking forward to a smooth transition of power on that day,” he said.
Gonzales also said the government was not preparing for any failure of election “because it will not happen.”
The “worst thing” that could happen on May 10 was that 20 to 30 percent of polling areas across the country would not have automated voting due to “problems of transmission,” he said.
But the Comelec is already preparing for an “incomplete automation,” he said. With a report from Jocelyn R. Uy
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