Strategic Masterstroke

Arroyo made a masterstroke when she pardoned Erap--it removed a major force in their ranks and effectively divided them. However, the situation is not hopeless. Erap can still undermine Arroyo. I mean, Erap can still regain whatever credibility he has with the people by just one strong statement of withdrawal of support from her. That would be sweet justice should Erap do this. Anyway, the papers have been signed and there's nothing really that Arroyo can do at this time about it. She can't file another case against Erap. The question that everybody is asking is--why is Erap seem so fearful of Arroyo?

Could it be that he was threatened by Arroyo of perdition should he not sign the pardon? Could it be that Erap is really not interested with politics anymore? Could it be that Erap has "learned his lesson" and that he knows for a fact that his force is just a "mirage"?

The political situation is still fuzzy at the moment. Nobody can really say where all of these things are headed. One thing is sure though--Erap and Arroyo have cancelled themselves out. They have one common enemy=FVR. It remains to be seen whether FVR still have the force to ram against them. I believe at this time, the accounting of forces have already been made and both camps know their true strength. The question is--will we see a change of government this November?

Observation on the online petition

Based on a reading of the People's Pulse, this online petition will amount to nothing. The people does'nt want a snap elections. Its a waste of time and money. What they support though, is a caretaker government. The concept of a caretaker government seems to resonate loudly among the people and I believe that should this happen, it will be supported by the people.

The caretaker government should rule this country until 2010. By that time, everything would have calmed down and a new constitution would have been in place. That's the way to go. The only question is--are these forces really determined to go all out against Arroyo? We will see in the coming weeks.