The President hangs on the tale of the tapes

Suddenly, the jueteng payola gave way to the controversy over the tapes of the alleged conversation between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and somebody identified only as "Gary."

And therein lies the ironic twist to the entire episode. It started out as a Senate inquiry into jueteng payola and, just out of the blue, ended up with a besieged President over the tapes.

But the situation has turned back again to jueteng. At least, insofar as Negros Occidental was concerned when Rep. Ignacio Arroyo (fifth district) filed two criminal charges against self-confessed jueteng bagwoman Sandra Cam. The charges are for libel and slander.

Arroyo reportedly arrived from Metro Manila after a brief vacation in Singapore with his counsel, lawyer Antonio Zulueta.

The lawmaker immediately belied Cam’s allegation that he personally accepted a P400,000 jueteng payola in his Batasang Pambansa office in Quezon City last December.

He also denied knowing Cam, pointing out that he had never met her on any occasion.

Arroyo also said in a telephone conversation that he will not resign from his House post, pointing out that only his constituents could make him decide on it.

"I will not resign because I am innocent of the baseless charges I have been accused of," Arroyo told Daily Star’s Gilbert Bayoran in a phone call.

Support from Marañon

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon also opposed the call for the resignation of both Rep. Mikey Arroyo and Iggy. It is still too early to conclude anything on the jueteng controversy since the Arroyos’ side has yet to be heard.

It is not wise for them to resign right now because they are elected officials and they have a mandate, was how Marañon put it.

Incidentally, Marañon supported Fernando Poe Jr. in the 2004 presidential elections. But he and President Arroyo had already made up.

But the Hinigaran Sangguniang Bayan expressed its full support for Iggy and the First Family. It condemned the whistle-blowers, saying they have questionable credibility and have direct links to jueteng operations and are purportedly concocting lies.

Hinigaran Mayor Caroll Guanco said, "There has been no concrete proof present, just unfounded tales which affect the moral fiber of society and shake the very foundation of an institution, the Congress, and undermine the economy of the country."

Also the third district mayors expressed unwavering support for the Arroyo administration.

They are Mayors Carlo Gamban of Silay City, Alfonso Gamboa of E.B. Magalona, Simplicio Palanca of Victorias City, Antonio Lizares of Talisay City, and Esteban Coscolluela of Murcia town.

But there were also those who demanded that Mrs. Arroyo should resign to erase doubts over the extent of their involvement in the jueteng scam.

"That’s the most honest thing to do for them," commented Sanlakas spokesman Ariel Guides.

The Partido ng Manggawang Pilipino called on the soldiers and the police to withdraw their support for what it calls an "illegitimate government" and to link up with mass movements.

Well, that for the moment is what is happening insofar as the jueteng controversy is concerned.

The tapes

Whether one likes it or not, the future of the President lies on the early resolution of the controversy over the tapes.

The only thing that is bugging the public now — which tapes are to be taken at face value?

Lawyer Allan Paguia, former counsel of ex-President Joseph Estrada, has claimed that he has four tapes and even declares that he is willing to be accused of wiretapping.

But his "tapes" were superseded by the "mother of all tapes" of former NBI deputy director Samuel Ong who sought sanctuary at the San Carlos Seminary.

All these events unfolded amid the thundering silence from Malacañang as to the authenticity of the President’s voice on the tape played by a television station.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye triggered the controversy when he presented the two tapes to Malacañang reporters and identified the voice on one as that of the President. He, however, backtracked from that assertion later and said it just sounded like that of the President.

Anyway, Ong asserted that his life was threatened because of the tapes, explaining that was the reason he had asked for sanctuary.

Later, however, when Susan Roces answered his call for her to see him at the seminary, the apolitical woman from Negros distanced herself from the controversy by pointing out that her candidate was already dead and she did not see any positive thing from the whole hullabaloo.

And Roces, the widow of the late FPJ, instead issued a call for a peaceful dialogue.

That ended Ong and the opposition’s efforts to fuel public sentiment to force GMA to resign.

Then, there was the incident involving T/Sgt. Vidal Doble. Now, that’s the poser. He reportedly arrived at the seminary ahead of Ong, as claimed by former Rep. Homobono Adaza. Another version said he was with Ong.

Anyway, the more important thing is that it took Bishop Socrates Villegas to get him out of the seminary after the request of Doble’s wife for him to be rescued.

The government almost created more blunders that could have ended up in a catastrophe had things turned out bad.

First, there was NBI director Reynaldo Wycoco announcing that the police were about to serve a warrant for the arrest of Ong for violation of the Anti-Wiretapping Law. He forgot that it was a weekend and the courts were not open. Later, from the seminary, there was a report that four intelligence agents were discovered on the second floor of the seminary but who managed to scamper away.

Then later, there were truckloads of soldiers who conspicuously paraded around the seminary complete with an armored car and the machine-gunner cracking his automatic weapon.

Worse, they were deployed in the squatters’ area behind the seminary. The question: who were they chasing after? If they were there to mount a rescue of Doble, that was an overkill. Certainly, they were not there to grab Ong since it was not yet a working day.

That left a bad taste in the mouth of observers. Or was it a signal that the military was flexing its muscles and serving notice to all and sundry that it holds the balance of forces in a trouble society?

It’s time for the President to start calling the shots and to rein in some of her obsessed followers and aides. These antics only serve to alienate the public, and most likely, telegraph to the people that things are running out of control.

Kris getting married?

Well, that may have the nation’s attention — the tapes, I mean. But Negrenses are agog over the report that Kris Aquino is marrying Purefoods forward James Yap. This time, for real.

A source from Yap’s family told local journalists that an aide of Kris went to Escalante City last week asking businessman Carlos Yap and Annie Agravante Yap to sign a parental consent document needed for the marriage license.

The parents reportedly were shocked at the decision of James and Kris.

The source added that some of Yap’s relatives support the marriage as long as it does not jeopardize his basketball career.

Kris is 34, while James is only 23.

Well, for most Negrenses, that is more exciting news than the President hanging in the balance over the controversial tapes.