Tough choices

Either President Arroyo is so smart that she knows something that the 90 million other Filipinos do not know, or she is so dumb that she cannot understand her predicament even if it is unfolding right before her very eyes.

My guess, however, is that Arroyo is neither. Instead, she is a victim of circumstances she herself created, circumstances that now leave her no choice. In a way, she has become what Marcos was in the years of dictatorship -- astride a tiger she cannot get off from.

Arroyo has been enmeshed in so many controversies and perceived anomalies, some or all of them probably true, that she cannot anymore let go of one of only two things that is keeping her safe -- power.

Without power, Arroyo is a flea waiting to be squished. Power is in fact the only thing keeping her unscathed. The one other thing -- lack of evidence -- cannot guarantee her absolute safety, as evidence will likely be found over time with enough persistence and patience.

Arroyo has repeatedly denied having ambitions to stay in power beyond the limits of her term in 2010. But she is a person who is not exactly reliable and trustworthy with words. How this country agonized when she broke her promise not to seek the presidency.

The country agonized because it was confronted with a very difficult choice. Will it go with a woman who lied to the same countrymen from whom she is now soliciting trust and support? Or will it go with a man who knows absolutely nothing about governance and leadership.

Apparently the nation took its chances with the woman who lied. Lies, after all, are more manageable than a headlong dive into certain oblivion. Of course it helped that the woman took out some insurance to cover what is now widely understood as the Garci syndrome.

Unfortunately, either Arroyo is again so smart that she must have been able to cover her tracks completely, or Filipinos have become such sloppy sleuths that they missed all the evidence altogether.

The bottom line is that, without the evidence, there is hardly anywhere we can proceed from and nowhere that we can proceed to, unless of course we want to throw what little we have left of our lives and our dignity and just plunge into lawlessness and anarchy.

And so Filipinos are confronted with another very tough choice. Should they kick out a leader who they think had been unfaithful but just could not find the proof to be absolutely certain? Or stick with the law on the notion that order is still in the best interest of all?

Filipinos have been betrayed many times, not only by unfaithful leaders, but also by the circumstances they themselves have created. For a time, Filipinos gave their all to people power uprisings, but these only benefitted a few and left most of the rest with an empty bag.

Now the Philippines is moving close to another junction in the road. In 2010, the year of the next scheduled general elections, Filipinos are expected to go for the vote. But Arroyo, faced with her own tough choices, may spring a surprise the kind of which none of us wants.

If Arroyo decides to extend her term, Filipinos will once again be called to choose between the unfaithful one who wants to linger and outlive her welcome, or go this time to the streets and face all the uncertainties and difficulties such an action will entail.

For a place blessed with great people and an abundance of natural beauty and resources, it seems incredible that the Philippines should at the same time be cursed with impossible leaders, who cannot be trusted except when looking after their own interests.