Evil resurrected

EDITORIAL

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10/05/2008

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago has been revealing a lot lately on Gloria’s grand strategy for political perpetuity.

Gloria’s ally, Santiago, appeared to be telegraphing to the public the true intentions of Malacañang for 2010.

Last Thursday, noting the absence of the P21 billion allocation for the automation of the next elections and the need for a supplemental budget for the automated polls, she said that the amount would be too expensive for a developing nation and that she would likely oppose that supplemental budget for the Commissions on Elections (Comelec) in the 2009 budget.

Her position contrasted with what Comelec Commissioner Jose Melo said regarding the Palace’s support for the supplemental budget.

Through Santiago, the Palace thought on the matter, however, was that either it does not intend to see elections in 2010 or that no computerization would happen during the next polls, the reason for which is too obvious.

Santiago the other day said that efforts to amend the Constitution may be under way and that a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) might be in place for it by the start of next year.

Considering that Santiago made her opposition to a supplemental budget for the Comelec for automated elections, it appears a bit skewed for her to be talking about Charter change (Cha-cha) but of course a plebiscite to ratify the Palace’s evil deed, done manually, won’t be as expensive as the national polls in 2010.

Santiago said provisions in the Constitution restricting foreigners to own land would have to be changed and amendments to it are needed to allow a shift to a federal form of government.

Gloria’s craving, if not lust, to tinker with the Constitution is not a secret, and if not for public vigilance, her cabal would have succeeded in pushing an earlier Malacañang-initiated People’s Initiative to amend the Charter and Gloria would now likely be the prime minister in a controlled parliament.

Just recently, the move for federalism was not the only means that Gloria employed in her Cha-cha efforts.

She and her cabal slyly tried to sneak in the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) that provided for the creation of a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, the creation which would need the amendment of the Constitution.

A Supreme Court (SC) injunction temporarily stopped the MoA-AD a day before it was signed.

It also appeared that Malacañang would pull all the strings at the SC on the question of the three-fourths vote required for Cha-cha in a Con-Ass. Malacañang wanted its interpretation to mean three-fourths of Congress with both members of the Senate and the House of Representatives in joint session.

Majority of the senators have opposed any moves to amend the Constitution, at least until Gloria is out of power because of the sinister motives that accompany such efforts.

The Senate interpretation, thus, is that a proposal to amend the Charter would have to pass the vote from both the House and the Senate in separate sessions, which is the usual practice for both legislative chambers in law making.

Santiago said the matter should be decided by the SC, which is packed by appointees of Gloria. The SC is not known to act independently of Gloria in matters where her political survival as well her power, is at stake.

Santiago, who seems to be Gloria’s chosen whip in the Senate would likely bare more as Gloria starts to rev up her Cha-cha train again.

As early as 2001, when Gloria took over the presidency from popularly elected President Joseph Estrada, the goal was for Gloria to hold on to power as long as possible — initially, nine and a half years, which explains why her coup d’ etat made sure of the right timing for her not be caught grabbing power in that four-year proviso where she could no longer seek the presidency. With her in Malacañang, and tasting almost absolute powers today andwith the balance lost and the checks gone, she wants to stay in power forever through a federal shift, which the country can ill afford.

Through deceit, Gloria again ran away with the presidency in 2004.

Proving that deception and fraud pay, Gloria believes that no doubt, manipulation would again favor her in further stretching her unwanted leadership to eternity.

Only public vigilance can frustrate Gloria’s evil designs.

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