GMA And JDV Apprehensive Of Each Other's Mischief

Is it dynamic leadership on the part of President Arroyo to exculpate herself of any involvement
on the rumored plot to oust Speaker Joe De Venecia as she told the media? Her mea culpa was
a veiled message to the embattled Speaker not to craft, now or in the future, a more polished
impeachment than the aborted Attorney Pulido impeachment, which was hurriedly trashed by
her minions in Congress.

Gloria just got out, by the skin of her teeth, of the scandal that she allegedly gave half a million
pesos each of the 190 congressmen and local executives invited to Malacanang for breakfast.
This took place when the air was full of talks about her break up with Speaker Joe De Venecia
after the ZTE deal melted down. Note that if JDV refurbished the Pulido impeachment before
proceeding with it, GMA would now be a political ratatouille. Imagine a smashing impeachment
formulated by the think tank of JDV loyalists, the result could have been cataclysmic to her.
Although that is highly improvable now that she already got a new lease of impeachment free
year.

Since she apologized to De Venecia on the ouster plot when many people perceive the House
leader as a liability to good government, will she (GMA) also apologize to a notorious crook
prosecuted for grand larceny? certainly not. Then why is she considerate, solicitous even sweet
to De Venecia, but pugnacious to Sen. Trillanes, Gen. Lim and the bunch of disgruntled soldiers
with them, who merely tried to make a statement through their failed coup staged in Makati
last week? Does she subscribe to compartmentalized justice?

Her ambivalence to oust Joe leads to the conclusion that she is laboring on a guilt complex, for
which reason she dares not antagonize Joe, for all the tea in China. That explains her telling
the media of her supposed “ignorance” about the ouster plot. Surprisingly though, that debt of
her concern has no traction on the sense of gratitude of JDV. This reaffirms the adage there are
no permanent friends or enemies in politics, only permanent interests.

If Joe De Venecia retaliates with a more virulent impeachment and eventually exposes her to
plunder and a mélange of related cases, then the battle royale will really be unstoppable. The
feud that erupted from the National Broadband Network scandal would just be a mosquito
head compared to the exposes he can sling at GMA from the long years of their closeness
anchored on corrupt deals they must have schemed. There is a saying that if you want to know
the sins of someone praise one to the other or in this case provoke them into a fight over
power and ill-gotten wealth. JDV is capable of anything and so is she. In that ill-fated NBN deal,
he used his son to embarrass First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and obliquely the president. If only
for that Gloria should proceed to extirpate Joe as the tallest man in the totem pole of Congress
as speaker because if he is still the boss next year, surely it will be curtains down for Gloria.
The impeachment then will carry a fatal blow on the president that may even consign her to jail
the Erap way.

Consequently, her ambivalence to deliver the coup d’ grace of kicking JDV to the ranks of
anonymous congressmen staggers prudent judgment. The yin and yang dictate that the best
interest of the people is foremost and no other consideration should precede it, and that
means removing Joe as speaker.

The “rebel” coup officers and soldiers honestly believed GMA should step down for the reasons
they cogently cited in a manifesto read by Senator Trillanes at the Peninsula hotel, in Makati.
From their demands it was clear that war was not the ultimate option or to topple down the
duly constituted government. That agenda was not visible. Nevertheless, with cold barbarism,
the military wildly lobbed tear gas bombs inside the hotel while a military tank destroyed the
door of said edifice. The public wondered if that was to demonstrate military mean
megalomania sanctioned by the Palace tenant? If so, they succeeded because the onlookers,
which included foreigners and the media, were horrified. The unbridled arrogance of power
knowing that the coup plotters were barely armed had a reverse impact - that the military was
tacitly fearful of the coup picking up momentum with people support that has not happened
anyway.

Such display of unrestrained force upon the weaker enemy is reminiscent of the unmitigated
bravery of the soldiers who mercilessly shot Ninoy Aquino in the back of the head as he was
going down the gang plank of the China airline he took to return home. The same “brave”
soldiers cried when they were convicted and are now begging to be pardoned by President
Arroyo when they showed no mercy to Ninoy 22 years ago. Is this poetic or divine justice?
The tormentors of Sen. Trillanes and company can do the nation a great service if they are as
barbaric against the Abu Sayyaf that has been destroying our country internationally and
sabotaging our fledgling tourism industry as well as ruining the economy by their vicious
banditry.

Humiliating the supposed “misguided” coup leaders while their hands were handcuffed behind
by policemen and soldiers, is indicative of unethical treatment of prisoners. A soldier dragged
Sen. Trillanes by the belt. The cruel grandstand was grossly revolting to the public. Was that
the way to treat an officer, and a senator at that? Did the military hierarchy give that
command? A bloody riot erupted in Los Angeles years ago, when some policemen went berserk
beating up Rodney King to a bloody pulp for over-speeding and drunkenness.

Despite his “ill-conceived” cause Senator Trillanes deserved a more humane and decorous
treatment. As I said in my column last week - the sadistic spectacle was overkill. What the
military did at the Peninsula hotel was obviously to intimidate the population of what to expect
if it becomes nonconformist with the Arroyo administration. Does the government have to
overemphasize that it does not hesitate to use excessive force to cower the citizenry? Are not
the extrajudicial killings of students, journalists and a host of advocates of freedoms who were
either killed or abducted (presumably by military commandoes) never to resurface again, not a
condemnable display of military power?

Her ambivalence on what to do with Joe De Venecia makes her suspect of egregious acts
herself and is trying to smoothen the followers of Joe in the House not to ruin her blissful
presidency. If she is immaculate in so far as plunder is concerned, then why fear the process to
oust her? Has she done something horrendously wrong to warrant forwarding her
impeachment to the Senate? Assuming the worse scenario that she is tried in the Senate for
plunder, how sure is she of being convicted?

Madam your slip is showing!

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GMA And JDV Apprehensive Of Each Other’s Mischief
By
Joe Mari Mercader