TO the nagging question: “Who can replace her (GMA)?” — the logical answer is in this form: “What if she’s incapacitated, or she resigns or, God forbid, she dies, will the Philippines be lost in oblivion?”
No one is indispensable regardless whether or not he or she occupies the highest position in the land. Maybe a “lesser evil” (as a figure of speech) will, but let’s hope the one who next occupies the seat is no evil. So, if the office of the president is vacated, there is no choice but for the VP to assume the office of the presidency — regardless of whether or not the VP is “capable” of leading the nation.
Perhaps, we can backtrack starting from the Comelec… How are candidates qualified and/or “disqualified” from running for office? Our voters can only select from candidates pre-selected by the Comelec. Disqualifying candidates is left with the Comelec — in the hands of people no less like the former [chairman Benjamin] Abalos! So, what’s there to choose from? There are thousands/millions of Filipinos who believe that the current VP is not capable to do so, but there are more who believed he can — when they elected him along with her in the last elections. Tainted with fraud as it may have been, that last election, nevertheless, had placed them (President and VP) in their current seats. And, if the nation cannot remove either or both of them from their seats, then there’s no other way but for the people to let them finish their terms but closely watching them with vigilant eyes and corresponding vigilant action, such as what’s happening today — perhaps, until such time that the people have gathered enough courage and strength to force a critical change without bloodshed.
Assuming that the VP replaces the President, and if he performs/behaves like the person he replaced, then we know that the people can replace him, too, anytime, perhaps easier than when the same people mandated the ouster of the President. So, whether we believe or not in the “capability” of the VP to lead the nation, we must learn to accept the fact that life is [about] taking risks. Life is asking questions without expecting to get all the answers within our lifetime.
– Jimmy Leonida, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (via e-mail)
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March 5th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
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Allan Says:
March 4th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Emotions + Greed = Disaster
Thats where we are heading if we let this so called moralist and guardians of democracy succeed. The senators, their greed for the presidency, Cory her greed to keep Hacienda Luisita, Erap his greed to keep his ill-gotten wealth, JDV and family their greed to recover lost kickbacks in the ZTE deal, the catholic church, their greed for control. The only ingredient missing is “emotions” and thats where Juan dela Cruz comes in.
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You forgot to mention the biggest crooks Mr. & Mrs. Pidals! Yeah, Poor Juan De La Cruz. You can thank Gloria Arroyo!
March 5th, 2008 at 11:20 am
The 1987 Constitution is not a perfect one, it should function well in a civilized way. It is very clear in the draft how succession will proceed. There are so many political bigwigs, former president and some senators wants to grab power and create a new constitution at their own favor.
Noli de Castro is a perfect man for the job if ever there is a vacancy in the Presidency. He will make a best stateman than anyone ever existed, may be better than Magsaysay, Quezon or Kennedy.
Malacanang should be cleansed and turn it into a holy place for good leaders.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Assumption classmates ask Arroyo to dump EO 464
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There is no way she’s going to dump EO#464 thats their protection. Ano sila tanga!
March 5th, 2008 at 6:23 am
Let’s be fair to Noli
By: Saleto J. Erames
Board Member, Negros Oriental
Both administration and opposition have one common descriptive word for Vice President Noli de Castro, “INCOMPETENT”. The administration’s line is, “If Gloria resigns, incompetent Noli will take over”. Senator Escudero and opposition spokesperson Adel Tamano were reported to have said that they do not approve of Noli’s becoming the next President. Senator Loren Legarda, understandably, is saying that Noli is not a viable alternative to GMA, which, she says, is the reason why she has not joined the call for GMA’s resignation.
Let’s be fair to Noli. If, indeed, Noli appears to be incompetent, it is because the Constitution has made the Vice President politically inutile and functionless. His value is “inchoate” that will arise and ripen only when he is metamorphosed from being a “spare tire” to a “functioning tire”. An American Vice President said: The Vice Presidency is “a very high office which consists entirely of honor”.
Labeling a Vice President as incompetent is an old fallacy.
Everybody thought that Senator Harry Truman was incompetent and unfit to become Vice President and later President of the United States. President Roosevelt said “I hardly know Truman” when Truman’s name was mentioned as his possible running mate. Mrs. Roosevelt wrote that she did not also know Truman, but “from all I hear, he is a good man”.
When Truman became Vice President, Roosevelt neither consulted him on anything nor referred to him any matter, domestic or international.
However, after the death of Roosevelt, which occurred on the third month of Truman’s vice presidency, the world saw a strong and decisive President Truman, one of the best Presidents of America.
Truman’s main asset was his honesty. He started life as a poor boy and ended it as a poor man living in the house of his mother-in-law because he failed to build one for himself.
I met Noli when he paid a courtesy call at the Office of the Governor of Negros Oriental during his campaign as an independent candidate for Senator. I was designated by the Governor to meet and welcome him at the Capitol. I remember what he said to me: “It is very difficult to run as an independent candidate. I am campaigning alone”, to which I replied, “The eagle soars alone”.
Let’s be fair to Noli. Let’s respect the Constitution’s rule of succession. Let’s hope that Noli will be “incompetent” to steal the people’s money. It is our misfortune to have Presidents who have exhibited much competence in the specialized field of corruption.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:50 am
The problem is, if with Noli only the name has changed but nothing else.
Yes, he is elected VP, but remember that there have been so many signs and facts of poll cheating for GMA as well as for Noli. If Filipinos now do not accept GMA anymore as right and clean elected President, will it solve the problem if she is replaced by someone who is accused of the same cheating? That Legarda did not win her protests has one technical reason (her running as Senator, even it is not clear what this has to do with being cheated in another event) and one which is rather a shame: That a protesting candidate has to spend millions for investigation and trial. In most more democratic countries such check-up is the duty of poll authorities. Not to forget the incriminating accusations about misusing his position as TV personality for financial matters, to say it politely. It was never cleared, only denied, the same what GMA and other accused also do. But denial is no clearance as accusation is not yet a proof.
Like it or not, if GMA was not legally elected and her succession of Estrada has been a long planned plot (destabilization, rebellion) with Elite, Big Business, Church, Generals and the dubious ledger of Singson, together with an SC Chief who created the famous “constructive resignation”, then Erap has the right to finish his term.
Besides, nowhere in the civilized world a briber who admits to have frauded from taxes the money alledgedly given to the passive bribed person (Chavit and Erap) can go complete scotfree, and not being investigated for to have lied under oath after it was practical proven that his story of delivering 130 million Pesos in the mentioned boxes was impossible. There was clearly politics above justice.