Two days ago, Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr., a key witness in the ZTE-NBN case, was abducted purportedly by presidential guard personnel from his plane when it landed in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Later, apparently due to the media chase that ensued, he was released to the care of the Catholic church.
With this development–and at the heels of the political quake that was the ouster of Speaker Jose de Venecia–the political crisis of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has taken a rapid turn for the worse. The Lozada abduction betrayed the breaking of the legal and constitutional boundaries just as the JDV ouster betrayed the breaking of the usual political boundaries.
What happened to JDV showed that the Arroyo family is prepared to ruthlessly discard even a top ally who may dissent from its position. It demonstrated the vulnerability of all friends and allies once they doubt or oppose the ruling family. Further, the JDV ouster can be seen as a major–if not a fatal–blow at the independence of the House of Representatives and the building of a genuine political party system.
What happened to Mr. Lozada was something else. It exposed the readiness of the Arroyo family to use the state instrumentalities–even if violative of laws and human rights–for purely political survival imperatives. Malacañang’s subsequent explanations and “evidences” to support an alleged “voluntary request” by Mr. Lozada for protection pale in the face of Lozada’s own story of forced abduction. The actual events support Lozada’s own version, such as the cloak and dagger operation, the denial by Lozada’s own family of such a request, the subsequent urgent motion for a writ of habeas corpus and writ of amparo before the Supreme Court, the contradictory stories of various government officials identified with the abduction, and the renewed Malacañang attack on the Senate investigation of the ZTE-NBN deal.
The panic, desperation, and tenseness evident in the sloppy decisions and executions in these incidents vie for supremacy with the arrogance, ruthlessness, and power-tripping evident in the mind-processes of the decision-makers.
After the JDV and Lozada incidents (and the potential political damage they promise), the specter of the whole fragile world of the Arroyos suddenly crashing down around them become a clear possibility. The Arroyo strategists are having restless days and sleepless nights over these events (or the mishandling of these events).
The way the Pidals & their Lapdogs have been acting since they grabbed power in 2001, was as if they had the monopoly of power and greed–they could do anything they wanted without a care in the world about what the people would say or think. The JDV & Lozada revelations gave them a crash course on reality; it was an in-your-face reality course.
The Pidals & their Lapdogs have now come face to face with the reality that their time could be up. It may come sooner than later. It is a reality that was never on the plate. Truth is, it is staring at them at the face, & they may have to chew that bitter pill.
The God-Save-The-Queen approach by the Pidal Lapdogs after the Lozada prescon was the dead give away that the Pidals may be on the brink of collapse.
[…] now, may I refer you to the Inquirer editorial for today, and the analysis of Mon Casiple in his blog: What happened to JDV showed that the Arroyo family is prepared to ruthlessly discard […]
Insightful analysis, as always.
One thing that strikes me, however, is the total lack of principle of the Pidals – garapal masyado, in other words. They will do anything, subvert or suborn anyone; lie, cheat or buy (whether with gold or influence), promise anything and go through the motions of complying with the promise in order to buy time.
We had that in 2005 at the height of Hello Garci – after the Hyatt 10, I thought that GMA’s downfall was imminent … only to be frustrated by JDV and FVR who offered a ‘compromise’ built on their own agendas. And where are they now? Ayun … naisahan silang lahat. They’re now marginalized and left hanging … simply because they never expected or believed that GMA and her cohorts are capable of doing anything just to hold on.
I’m not confident that the Lozada testimony will lead to her departure from the Palace. True, the cohorts will be having sleepless nights and restless days … the question is whether they’ll have the guts or the stomach to weather this storm …
From one perspective, ZTE and Lozada can be called a tempest in a small teapot – it is only in the Senate where all these revelations and what not will come out. After the investigations are concluded and the reports filed, what then?
Remember, the Senate found more than enough evidence to prove malfeasance on the part of Joc-Joc Bolante several years ago; what has happened to that case? Even with the testimonies of Lozada and Nery (if he ever finds the balls), this will end with the Senate only.
Congress has been co-opted; even if another impeachment case is filed, there is no guarantee that Tong-gress will let it pass (in any case, filing an impeachment is several months away – baka mauwi sa limot itong ZTE). People power? Honestly, would people be that willing to take to the streets again after the disappointments of EDSA I and II? A military coup, probably … but with Esperon and the GMA generals in charge … bad scenario!
In the end, I guess I can only echo and paraphrase Mother Theresa when she said,
“I do not pray for success (in ousting GMA);
I can only pray for faithfulness (that in the end, they will earn their just rewards..)”
Now the question is had it been approved (the commission being cut in half) and the project went underway would Lozada act differently?
If Lozada had even half of the commission will it also be considered as “moderated greed” or “Greed Controlled: Mission Success”? Would it add to his resume of doing something moderately right for the Filipinos?
[…] more, the people in Malacañang are having sleepless nights and restless days since the ouster of De Venecia (of which an insightful analysis is written by UP professor Luis […]
[…] of text rumors warning of a bombing today. Once more, the people in Malacañang are having sleepless nights and restless days since the ouster of De Venecia (of which an insightful analysis is written by UP professor Luis […]
[…] of text rumors warning of a bombing today. Once more, the people in Malacañang are having sleepless nights and restless days since the ouster of De Venecia (of which an insightful analysis is written by UP professor Luis […]