GMA yields on no-el

Now the issues are joined. The President has caved in on the issue of no elections, eventually yielding to the clamor for the holding of elections next year. In effect, thus deprives the political opposition and the various anti-Arroyo elements of this one issue that they have been using to clobber the administration.

It appears that what finally convinced the administration to abandon its No-el stance are the pastoral letters of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Among other advocacies, the CBCP pastoral letters adopted a categorical position that calls for the holding of the 2007 elections.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita now assures that there will definitely be an election next year. He said, however, that it should be a parliamentary election. This could be the administration’s big headache, though, considering the Senate’s intransigence on the issue of amending the Constitution to effect a shift from a presidential to a parliamentary form of government. And therein lies the crux of the matter, because the CBCP also rejects the constituent assembly mode of amending the Charter, which is favored by the administration and its allies in the House.

The CBCP stand for constitutional convention as the preferred means for amending the Constitution coincides with the position of a majority of the senators.

This becomes problematic for the administration because, despite the brave words of administration congressmen that they can go it alone, and Congress being a bicameral body, the reality is that no act of either chamber can become valid without the concurrence of the other.

This is what the present Charter provides, and although the issue can be taken to the Supreme Court, the odds and the preponderance of legal thought seem to be stacked against the House. Incidentally, the House committee on constitutional amendments has also stricken off the no-el proposal from its agenda of constitutional changes.

If the abandonment of the no-election proposal proves anything, it is that the administration and its allies listen to constructive criticisms and are sensitive to the public pulse.

But while the CBCP’s call "to pursue relentlessly the truth behind the Hello Garcia controversy" may well be within the Church’s moral authority, there are bound to be serious misgivings on whether it could, in fact, further aggravate the divisiveness that has pushed this country dangerously close to fratricidal strife.

The congressional investigations into this controversy seem to have reached a dead end, with no clear findings in sight. Most probably, this is why, after months of inconclusive investigations, the five House committees conducting a joint probe into the issue decided to terminate the inquiry. Even the Senate’s own investigation seems to be stalled, with the Biazon committee fending off charges of using "recycled witnesses."

As it is, the CBCP’s call for a "relentless pursuit" on this issue has stoked the fires of partisan politics once again, with the opposition finding encouragement in the pastoral letters’ pronouncements. Yet this has only resulted in further confusing the public, with the administration and the political opposition throwing in their respective spins into the church group’s declaration.

Press Secretary and Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye asserts that the President acknowledges the CBCP statement "with humility and an open mind." The President, according to him, is "open to all just and fair means under the law to ferret out the truth surrounding all the controversies affecting the presidency."

Jumping at every opportunity to paint the administration in a negative light, and citing the contents of the pastoral letters, opposition Senator Panfilo Lacson and Congressmen Francis Escudero, Roilo Golez and Crispin Beltran seized upon the CBCP declaration to excoriate the President once again.

With this development, wouldn’t it be more judicious to defer this "pursuit of truth" to another time, perhaps when the "pursuers" would not longer have to work under a poisoned atmosphere?

While the opposition may continue to denounce the supposed "illegitimacy" of the Macapagal-Arroyo presidency, the fact is that this question has been decided not only in the presidential canvass of votes, but even in the presidential electoral tribunal. The fact is that Macapagal-Arroyo has been confirmed by these two bodies as the duly elected president of this country. It is also a fact that her party controls the House of Representatives and any move to impeach her again will surely fail.

Macapagal-Arroyo will not be there forever. A new Constitution could shorten her term. And if the opposition really believes she cheated in the elections and is guilty of corrupting an election official, they could still seek her conviction in the proper courts once she is no longer in power, when her immunity is gone and could thus be given her just retribution. Else, the public has the right to assume that their only motive in their persistent attempts to oust her at this time is none other than a power grab.

For that matter, can’t the politically-minded members of the CBCP follow the expressed wish of Pope Benedict XVI that churchmen should refrain from engaging in political activities? As things stand, certain members of the CBCP could be playing into the hands of scheming politicians and disgruntled elements in the military who are engaged in constant destabilization activities against the administration.

It would be advisable, perhaps, for the churchmen to leave such politically loaded issues as the Garci tapes to the political partisans. As for boxing hero Manny Pacquiao’s ardent wish that "sana magkaintindihan na tayong lahat," the Pacman could well have addressed his plea to the winds.

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THE POLITICAL developments may be confusing to a number of observers. What is needed is unity, cooperation, deep love of country over self interests. What is sorely needed is spiritual rejuvenation to help us go through these tumultuous times. The evangelical churches in the country have not lost hope for a better Philippines, as they enjoin people to turn to the Lord for guidance. They are inviting everyone to attend the Metro Manila Franklin Graham Festival (MMFGF), an evangelistic event that aims to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the greatest number of Filipinos, beginning in Metro Manila, and effectively, to the whole nation. The Festival will be held at the Rizal Park, Quirino Grandstand, beginning today up to the 5th.

Franklin Graham is the son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham who was in the Philippines in September 1977 for the Metro Manila Billy Graham Crusade which was also held at the Quirino Grandstand. Continuing the work his father started, Franklin has been leading five evangelistic festivals each year around the world. This is his first festival in Asia, and the Philippine Festival is his gateway to more festivals in the region. A festival is set for Okinawa, Japan, in November.

Franklin was invited to lead the festival in Manila by the Alliance of Baptist Councils, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, Philippines for Jesus Movement – Jesus is Lord Church , and the Independent Churches and Christian Organizations with the cooperation of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The festival is held at 6:30 p.m. February 2-4, and 5 p.m. February 5. A children’s festival, "Pistang Pambata," will be held in the same venue at 8 a.m. For more information, call the Festival Office at 9163014 or check the website at www.mmfgf.org.

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