GMA by split decision?

Sabi ng ilan, masyadong napaka-agang husgahan o magsalita ng patapos na ( Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales) nasa "ligtas na politically si Ate Glo na masipa sa Malakanyang." So far, kahit nung Holy Week at nasa bakasyon ang sektor ng kabataan, mukhang hindi nahinto ang mga pagkilos para sa patuloy na paghahanap ng katotohanan. Kahit paano, tuloy ang maliliit na mga pagkilos, pag-eeduka (prayer rally, sympo at mga talakayan sa maraming sektor) at pagkokonsolida ng mga pwersang demokratiko para sa susunod na yugtong pakikibaka.

Sa kabila ng walang tigil na pagsambulat ng malalaking isyung pangbansa, naiiwang nakatiwang-wang at walang kasagutan ang mga iskandalong tulad ng ZTE broadband, Cyber Ed, Northrail, suhulan at kaliwa't kanang pangungurakot, ang isyu ng Sprtaly't soberanya, ang Supreme Court ruling patungkol sa isyu ng "executive previledge" at ang patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng BIGAS, bilihin, krudo't langis. Maaring sa unang tingin ni Sec Gonzales ay naging matumal na nga ang mga pampulitikang pagkilos at ang mahigit na 50,00 rally sa Makati noong February 29 na sinasabing pinakamalaking pagkilos laban sa rehimen ni Ate Glo sa loob ng limang taon ay hindi na muling masusundan. (Photo below: Supreme Court, www.philnews.com at CBCP, www.abs-cbnnews.com)

Matapos makompiramang hawak na sa leeg ni Ate Glo ang Supreme Court at CBCP, ang timplada ng labanan ay maaring sabihin nasa panig na ng Malakanyang. Kaya lang, ang Senado ay tila baga hindi magpapadala sa pambu-bully at panggagapang ng Malakanyang. Bagamat nag-aantabay ang magkabilang pwersang politikal sa bansa, bumubwelo't naghihintay, maaring dalawa lang ang senaryong pulitikal sa mga susunod na buwan; may lumitaw na isyung (crisis sa pagkain at langis at may lumitaw na panibagong Jun Lozada star witness) muling magpapasabog ng sitwasyon at magpapatuloy ang political momentum na pinainit ng Feb rallly sa Makati o tulauyan ng maagaw ng Malakanyang ang inisyatibang politikal, manumbalik sa "normalcy" at magshift na sa inaasahang madugong presidential eleksyon sa 2010.
- Doy
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Sunday, March 30, 2008
EDITORIALS
GMA by split decision
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/mar/30/yehey/opinion/20080330opi1.html

MANY Filipinos could not believe that President Arroyo won her latest political fight with the opposition in Metro Manila.
They think she lost the fight, or that the decision should have been a draw. But most public opinion, the newspapers, opinion writers and coffee shop analysts said she has survived the worst blows to stay in power until 2010.
The critics threw every punch at her in what they considered a final showdown. They mounted a giant rally in Mayor Binay's Makati and a big protest in Liwasang Bonifacio. In between, prayer rallies failed to knock her out.
The blows came mainly from civil society groups and a powerful bloc of anti-Arroyo bishops. Unexpected reinforcements came from the seasonally sleepy students.
To ensure her downfall, the challengers organized the group of Former Senior Government Officials, which counts with former Cabinet members and middle-level managers responsible for the corruption in their respective offices.
To deliver the knockout blow, the challengers sent Jun Crybaby Lozada to rouse emotions and to rally the ringside crowd.
Some analysts said the champion won the fight by doing business as usual and showing she was in command. Others said she disarmed the CBCP with her powers of persuasion.
There were plenty of criticisms at the "commercials" during the bout. The critics charged that every province, regional development council, town, city and barangay council advertised full support for the champion.
At the presscon after the victory parade, the champion said the opposition delivered low blows to rob her title. She kept her heart because the nation was watching and was united behind her.
Will she retire in 2010 or go for another title? Sen. Drilon warned GMA will go for the parliamentary heavyweight division two years from now. The Supreme Court decision on the Neri petition clears the way for a bigger fight, he said.
"Inggit ka lang," said trainer and coach Eddie Ermita.

Palace adviser on rice
THE Palace announced yesterday the appointment of Pedro Palayo as Presidential Adviser on Rice and Fish.
"The appointment confirms the President's interest in ensuring that affordable rice and other food items are available in every home," the press secretary said.
The opposition criticized the appointment as a window dressing because Palayo's experience is not in rice production or retailing but in manufacturing rice sacks.
Palayo immediately answered his critics by announcing the holding of a "rice-less day" on April 15. Every home will be encouraged to forego rice on that day, he said. The First Family will set the example. The President and her family will be shown on TV dining on noodles, bread and canned soup.
Another priority is introducing a bill that would make rice hoarding and overpricing punishable by death. He said he would ask the Department of the Interior and Local Governments and the local jurisdictions to promote rice-less fiestas and no-rice celebrations.
The abolition of the National Food Authority is high on his list. At the same time, he said he would hire agricultural consultants from Vietnam and Thailand to advise Filipinos on increasing rice production.
Use every idle lot in Metro Manila for gardening. Reclaim Central Luzon's title as "rice granary of the Philippines" and return the rice fields to the farmers.
Palayo thinks the folk song "Magtanim Ay Di Biro" needs positive-sounding lyrics to celebrate the joys of rice growing.
"Our goal is to achieve rice self-sufficiency in 2010 or before 2010," he declared. Palayo urged Filipino-Americans and other expatriates to send rice and breakfast cereals, not canned goods, to families in the Philippines.

April 1 is a holiday
MALACAÑANG is preparing a draft executive order declaring April 1 a national nonworking public holiday.
The draft says that "during these perilous times, Filipinos could use a sense of humor and lightness to ease the national stress, improve the quality of life and survive the day with grace."
The order takes note of "the poisoned partisan politics, the grimness in our national papers, the anger in the editorial pages, the profusion of bad news, the increasing conflict among the three major branches, the Church's intrusion into matters of state, the incivility on the street" and "what the government and the citizens could do to restore smiles and laughter" in the national life.
"April 1 or April Fool's Day is an appropriate time to remind us that there is a place for lightness in the speeches of public officials, in the relations between the government and media, on print space and broadcast airtime and in the daily grind amid traffic jams, rice insecurity and rising oil prices."
The EO encourages public officials to learn how to take jokes at their expense, be more self-deprecating, accept heckling like good sports, add humor to public addresses, return the Gridiron Skit to the National Press Club "and to do a thousand and one things" that will improve human relationships and health.
While encouraging harmless pranks and practical tricks that are popular on April 1, the draft adds that spreading rumors about an impending rice crisis is a bad joke.

Related Story:
GMA 'politically weak' but will finish her term--Eurasia by Lala Rimando
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=113769