A Liberal Party coup

The dramatic events that happened in Manila the past few days were mainly the handiwork of the revitalized Liberal Party, led by Senate President Franklin Drilon and Sen. Mar Roxas. In simple terms, it was plain power grab, intended to steal the thunder from the opposition who were at the vanguard of the oust-Gloria campaign.

The resignation of ten cabinet members, the statement of former president Corazon Aquino, the press conference by some leaders of the LP, and the statement by leaders of the Makati Business Club on the same day were all orchestrated by the LP to force the president to resign. The liaison to Aquino was her son, LP vice president Noynoy.

It is now becoming clear to chroniclers of the events and pundits that Drilon and Roxas were at the center of the plan to pressure the president to resign, install Vice President Noli de Castro and appoint Drilon as Vice President and concurrently executive secretary. The plan was: In a post-GMA government, Noli will reign but the LP will rule.

But going into the weekend, the LP plan fizzled out. Undaunted by the terrible pressure arising from the resignation by some members of her official family, the president fought back. She said she will not resign and told her critics to go to Congress if they have complaints about her way of ruling. She continued with her information campaign, and most of all, she mobilized her core party and former President Fidel Ramos.

Internally, the LP also suffered setbacks arising from its hurried planning. Some members of the party did not obey the message of the Drilon press conference and predicted that the LP would split into three if their leadership continued with its plan. To top it all, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, the chairman of the party, went to the press to announce that he does not support the Drilon initiative.

On the other side of the coin, the opposition was surprised by the development. I spoke to them on Saturday at the Kapihan sa Sulo Hotel and they expressed strong disagreement with the plan to install Noli de Castro. Former senator Francisco Tatad and Rep. Imee Marcos considered De Castro as part of the same team that cheated during the last elections.

The LP project was envisioning that, with the resignation of ten members of the cabinet, the people will go to the streets and pressure the president to resign. But the expected crowd did not come. Bayan Filipinas, the secular movement of Bro. Eddie Villanueva, failed to muster the crowd while the group of Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay dispersed on early Friday evening.

Then came Tabako, former President Fidel Ramos. In a move that changed the power equation, FVR went to the Palace, held a press conference and later accompanied the president in a consultation meeting with leaders of the Lakas at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City. It was clear, going into the afternoon of Saturday, that the president had obtained a political reprieve.

The president still draws strength from the fact that the levers of power in Philippine society are not against her. The business community is still divided. The military is neutral. The political parties are still divided. As for the church, the CBCP as of Sunday, has not issued a pastoral letter condemning her government. It seems that only the Jesuit order is against her.

She continues to get the support of the local executives and many representatives. But above all, she has impressed many with her determined bid to stay in power against all odds. To many, it showed a character of strength in times of adversities. She will need that virtue as we go into the next few weeks.