Calculating GMA and P-Noy

May is the merriest and most colorful month of the year in the Philippines. It is the season of festivals. One of which is the Santacruzan, a popular religious festival introduced to us by the Spaniards and serves as highlight of the month-long celebration of Flores de Mayo. Then you have the Pulilan Carabao Festival in Pulilan, Bulacan (May 14); the Pahiyas Festival in Tayabas, Quezon (May 15) and the Obando Fertility Rites (May 17-19). Stakeholders must be careful in planning out these activities. They must consider the preservation of our heritage instead of spoiling it to their fancy.

Filipinos love fiestas. As a matter of fact, many of our kababayans around the world come home just to attend their town’s fiesta. Tourist arrivals peak during the summer. This is often linked to the development of the region as it provides job opportunities and brings much needed income from foreign visitors.

Tourism can, however, have negative effects. For example, the once beautiful islands of Boracay and Puerto Galera have become an oasis of garbage that pose serious threats on the conservation of the natural environment. I hope the Department of Tourism can closely collaborate with the LGUs in coming up with means and ways to strengthen the local tourism industry while preserving our tourist attractions. Having tourists’ information booths will surely be appreciated by travelers. The perennial problem of having clean public toilets and restaurants must also be addressed if we want to keep the visitors coming. Not to forget small museums that depict the culture, traditions and famous people of the towns would be a delight.

We need a new type of tourism that supports ecologically sustainable development and reaffirms our cultural identities, to make our culture and environment better known, cared for and appreciated by visitors.

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What’s the latest news on GMA? Has P-Noy found a way to deal with calamity Gloria? Has he already filed cases against her?

From the beginning of his campaign to his ascendancy as President of the Republic, P-Noy has always accused GMA of corruption creating a notion in our minds that GMA is his No. 1 public enemy. It’s been almost 11 months now since P-Noy has been in Malacañang but up to this point in time, he has not been able to pin GMA down. How long will it take this Administration to convict La Gloria?

It seems to me that last week’s move of GMA’s departure could have been a rehearsal, a move to annoy the Palace or it could have been the real thing of fleeing the country.

Let me backtrack a bit here. Last week, I wrote about GMA and her family leaving the country on Wednesday night passing through the VIP tarmac of NAIA 1 where they were held for 30 minutes for clearing purposes. The standard operating procedure of the VIP tarmac is that only five people can pass through this area: the President of the Republic, the Vice President, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. My question was how was GMA able to pass through this VIP backdoor?

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said, “The Arroyos were probably just on vacation.” He also said that, “The Palace does not have information on Arroyo’s itinerary or supposed speaking engagement.” Then he added, “Arroyo was probably given a VIP treatment at the airport because she is a former president and now a representative of Pampanga.” Sanamagan! How iffy can you get? I think Lacierda should have reviewed his statement and the SOPs of the airport before talking to the press. With this statement Lacierda puts P-Noy in such a lethargic and lame position. Here you have his No. 1 enemy leaving the country and they do not have a clue as to her whereabouts? Then you have an airport with too many security problems (that’s why the TSA has rated its systems and controls very low) and he can still afford to casually state that GMA being a past president and who is now in Congress was “probably given VIP treatment” by airport officials. That’s not good at all — especially coming from one of the President’s men.

Anyway, I think it was such a bold statement for GMA to have left the country. My own half judgment on this was if P-Noy really wanted to tough it out with GMA, he should have detained her or prevented her from leaving. He could have ordered the DOJ to file a case against her ASAP. But since they did not have a case filed against her, they just blinked. Susmariosep! Was this a lapse of judgment on P-Noy or was there a very elaborate deal done by cronies close to both GMA and P-Noy?

Do not underestimate GMA. She is a tough cookie. Her move to dethrone Erap in 2001 was a spectacle — a smooth and tough operator indeed. She has nine years of experience as president. Don’t forget, she stayed in power after four coup attempts to oust her.

GMA is trouble for P-Noy. She is a very strong-willed person who forges her way with daring initiatives. She has no fear. She has the capacity to turn the impossible into the possible. Just when you think she is down and defeated, she will surprise you with a big leap forward. Mr. President, I’m pretty sure by this time, you know that GMA would rather be caught dead than be caught weak.

Will the government file charges against her or are they going to give her a chance to leave the country like some people from the DA who allegedly just left the country to escape the inquisition?

The question is will GMA stay in the country and fight her battles here (like what Erap did) or will she leave the country and opt for exile and fight her battles from outside (like Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand)? Whatever it is, she will be a king-size headache for P-Noy’s administration.

Now that the news is closing in and tightening on her, now that most of her men in key positions have surrendered — what is left for GMA to do? Who is leading between the two in the so-called ‘war of attrition’?