Seven years of 'deceit'

On the seventh anniversary of the EDSA 2 uprising, Estrada’s supporters and the groups that ousted him in 2001 were together in sending the message that seven years of the Arroyo administration are enough.

“This government has been deceiving us for seven years," said Bro. Armin Luistro, president of the De La Salle University System, during the indoor activity.

“A government that bases its false claims to victory on an election that has legitimacy problems of its own has no right to govern us," he said.

Erning Ofracio, an urban poor leader from the Kilusan para sa Makatarungang Lipunan at Gobyerno, told about a text joke he had earlier received, in which a man told his daughter that liars do not grow tall, and get protruding teeth and moles on their faces.

“Anak daw po ‘yon ni Presidente Diosdado Macapagal," Ofracio said. “Pero ang batang ‘yon ay Presidente na ng Pilipinas."

Danilo Ramos, chairman of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas talked about the peasantry’s worsening poverty and hunger under the Arroyo administration, and reminded the audience about the Fertilizer Funds scam of 2004. “Yong pondo para sa abono, iniabono sa kampanya," he said.

Josie Lichauco, convenor of the Concerned Citizens Group and former Transportation and Communication Secretary, discussed the various corruption scandals under the Arroyo regime.

Vergel Santos, editor of Business World and a board member of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, talked about the Arroyo regime’s repressive measures: the “Strong Republic" policy, Presidential Proclamation No. 1017, and the Human Security Act.

When Arroyo was sworn in on Jan. 20, 2001, she promised, among other things, “government by example."

But early on in her continuation of Estrada’s term (2001-2004), Arroyo had come under fire from people’s organizations for her government’s refusal to address long-standing economic demands such as a P125 legislated wage increase for private-sector workers; and for inaction amid relentless increases in the prices of basic commodities like water, power, and petroleum products due to the policies of privatization and liberalization imposed by the Bretton Woods Twins. Human rights violations especially extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances also started to escalate early on.

By 2003, Arroyo’s name had been enmeshed in no less than ten large-scale corruption scandals.

Having spent only three years continuing her predecessor’s term, Arroyo was constitutionally allowed to run for the 2004 presidential elections – where she won amid allegations of massive fraud.

Discrepant figures in the election returns and certificates of canvass cast doubts on the credibility of the 2004 presidential elections. In the end, however, she was proclaimed winner by more than 1 million votes against her closest rival, the actor Fernando Poe, Jr. who died without seeing the conclusion of his electoral protest.

In mid-2005, Arroyo faced a major challenge to her government following the surfacing of the so-called “Hello Garci" tapes.

The “Hello Garci" tapes were a series of wiretapped and recorded conversations in which a voice similar to Arroyo’s is heard instructing an election official – widely believed to be former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano – to rig the presidential polls. There is a specific instruction that a victory of “more than 1 M" be ensured for the woman.

Both Arroyo and Garcillano were forced to admit that they talked to each other during the counting period following the 2004 polls. They have, however, denied rigging the elections.

The surfacing of the “Hello Garci" tapes triggered widespread demands for Arroyo’s resignation or removal from office. Here the EDSA 2 forces and the pro-Estrada groups found a common cause.

Human rights violations would become rampant from 2004 – underscored by present figures from Karapatan pointing to more than 880 extrajudicial killings and more than 180 enforced disappearances since 2001. Likewise corruption would also worsen – with the latest cases being the National Broadband Network deal between the Philippine government and China’s ZTE Corp., and the distribution of “cash gifts" to congressmen and governors in a Malacañang meeting last October.

Arroyo has been the subject of three impeachment complaints citing her for bribery, graft and corrupt practices, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution – the same charges against Estrada. All impeachment complaints were thrown out through the sheer tyranny of numbers at the House of Representatives.

Jan. 20, 2008, marks Arroyo’s seventh year in office – making her the longest-serving Philippine President since the late Ferdinand Marcos. - Bulatlat

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7 bad years, 01/22/2008, former Amb. Ernesto Maceda, Tribune
After seven years of GMA, there’s almost unanimous opinion that the life of the Filipino has worsened in many ways. Consider the following:

1). More Filipinos have become poorer and hungry as consistently reelected by all surveys. More and more Filipinos, including doctors, nurses, engineers, IT professionals and skilled workers are leaving to seek jobs abroad.

2). Government corruption has reached record high levels earning for the Philippines the title of the “most corrupt country in Asia” and GMA as the “most corrupt President” of 14 Presidents in Philippine history, and condemnation by the US Senate and State Department. From the standard “10 percent kickback before GMA’s tenure, it has now risen to 40 percent for government contracts. Kickbacks/commissions on government contracts have increased from thousands to billions.

3). The crisis in education has resulted in a lowering of quality of graduates and reached record levels of dropouts. Only 10 percent of applicants qualify for call center jobs principally because of poor English and there are now almost 12 million youths of school age not in school. Thousands of teachers are seeking jobs abroad including working as domestics or caregivers. The shortage of school rooms, teachers, textbooks and desks is continuing. The Philippines is way behind its Asian neighbors in computerization.

4). Health services have deteriorated greatly. Many government hospitals have closed down due to lack of doctors, nurses and facilities. More than 200 towns have no doctors including many towns in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Southern Leyte and Samar. The price of medicines and hospital services for major diseases, including CT scan, MRI, chemotherapy, radiation, dialysis and heart surgery has become unaffordable to 90 percent of the population.

5). The electoral process as shown by the conduct of the 2004 and 2007 elections is seriously flawed with vote buying, including dagdag-bawas “special” operations reaching unbelievable proportions. Even barangay elections go for P1,500 per vote. The Comelec has become a damaged institution. It costs as much as P500 million to run for senator and P50 million to run for congressman. A City Councilor of Manila spent P17 million to get elected.

6). The twin insurgencies of the New Peoples Army (NPA) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front/Abu Sayaf are still raging. The NPAs raids on municipal buildings, police stations, plantations and mining companies are continuing. Communist Party of the Philippines Founder Jose Maria Sison disputed General Esperon’s claim of success in the anti-NPA campaign by announcing the NPA is increasing its guerrilla fronts to 130. The Muslim rebels continue to inflect heavy casualties on government forces, especially in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and the Cotabato province.

7). A crime wave is raging with murders and assassinations and kidnappings, a daily fact of life. Carnapping has graduated to carjacking. Cellphone and car mirror snatchings have increased. The incidence of drug use is up and drug dealing is largely unchecked due to corrupt police and PDEA agents abetted by corrupt local officials. Extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances has become a hallmark of the GMA administration noted by international human rights watchdogs and has resulted in a downgrade of our freedom and democracy by New York based Freedom House.
Yes, it was been seven very bad years of the citizens and the above record of seven sins is the legacy of GMA that will be historically remembered.
Resumption. Extra-judicial killings have resumed. Teldo Rebamonte, 45, a leader of the Masbate People’s Organization, was abducted and killed in Claveria, Masbate. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas has accused Regional Mobile Group policemen of being the killers.
Other killings over the weekend include Ret. Police Col. Bonifacio Cacho, 56 as he was cleaning his car inside his garage in Reyes Subdivision, Limay, Batangas, Businessman Joselit Jumahon, 28, was shot dead 8:00 p.m. Friday night while his car was traveling Morayta street near España in Sampaloc’s university belt. His companion, Marciano Pangan, 36, an OFW was seriously wounded.
In Matnog Sorsogon, retired Army Sgt. Leonardo Gazis, 57, was abducted and killed by suspected NPA members. In Tagaytay, two unidentified men were found dead inside an abandoned pickup truck. In nearby Dasmarinas, Cavite, former Vice Mayor Vicor Carungcong was ambushed and shot dead by four men riding a multicab.
Drug addicts stabbed to death Michael Batica, as he going home at Parola, Tondo. Teenagers Norial Grefal, 18 and Usman Bonifacio, 16 were shot dead by a motorcycle riding assailant at Batasan Hills, Q.C.