Tempt fate?

I fail to understand why an international backlash could result from placing the former president now congressman Gloria Arroyo in a detention center. That she should be treated with respect owing to her former stature in government. Isn’t she being treated that way? One senator even had to interject that because President Aquino still enjoys a high approval rating, restive elements in the military may have difficulty moving against the government. Then gives a warning that we should not tempt fate. How is that related to the current drama that is engulfing Gloria Arroyo? Is the senator saying that she has a restive military following, just waiting for the right time to strike? Does he know who these restive elements are? Is he part of it, as it seems that every time there is unrest or there is a swelling of military adventurism, he is in on it? Why should the world avoid investing in the country, if Arroyo is placed in a detention center first? All these questions.

Just exactly how is Arroyo being treated? Was she arrested in the same manner former Joseph Estrada was, in his home in Greenhills, on live TV? Everything surrounding her arrest was done in the privacy of her fifty thousand peso-a-day hospital suite! Even her mug shots were done in private. Joseph Estrada had to endure the humiliation brought about by all of these, including his ouster. Yet he never made any attempts to leave the country. The same cannot be said of Arroyo and her camp!

There have been many leaders in the past, from all over the world, who have been arrested because of crimes to their respective people. Two South Korean presidents come to mind. One was sentenced to death, but later pardoned by another president. His successor was also arrested and charged with corruption. Both made apologies on national TV, tried in court and jailed. Did South Korea’s economy flounder after that? I think not! It may have even improved! Mubarak was ousted by his people and arrested. Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gaddhafi were both violently ousted by their people, and eventually executed, on You Tube even! Did the world weep?

And where does it say that Arroyo will even stay long in a detention center before her lawyers and the court allow a house arrest? Estrada is even now offering the same place he was held when his case was being tried! I really don’t see the basis for all these warnings relating to how the former president is being treated. As far as I’m concerned, she is being treated well and being given all the respect befitting a former head of state, although now criminally charged and arrested. The only time she was under severe stress was when they pulled off that stunt at the NAIA-1. A drama written and directed by the Arroyo camp and played before a live audience.

By the way, the reason for the current unrest in Egypt is because the military that was supposed to take over the government temporarily doesn’t seem to want to relinquish it anymore. The military should, never rule a nation. Its people will no longer stand for it. That, is fate.