Mrs. Arroyo to run for Congress in 2010

So, Mrs. Arroyo, the devil enfant, is running for Congress afterall, says one of her closest allies, Secretary Pangandaman yesterday. And the palace issued a formal declaration, saying that Mrs. Arroyo intends to step down from power come 2010. Even one of her loyalists, QC Congressman Matias Defensor urged her to do so. So, what do we fear?

I never doubted actually that Mrs. Arroyo and her devil ilk at that house beside the Pasig really wanted to stay beyond 2010. I heard some of them saying that they would want to, but, like in the past, this administration has the tendency to stand down. Yet, what we should be very vigilant is this "one step backward, two steps forward" policy of this government. We heard these things before and some might even surmise that these pronouncements are just being said to lull us back to sleep.

Yet, one of the interesting things I got from a friend who handled Mrs. Arroyo for many years is really very instructive. He said that Mrs. Arroyo will obviously back down. She's just afraid of prosecution.

Mrs. Arroyo wants to preserve the financial gains she and her family amassed from the people all these years and avert a financial fate similar to what Mrs. Marcos is experiencing right now. That's why she wants to run for Congress in 2010. And she reportedly hates charter change. For Arroyo, the times are still unripe for a parliamentary shift, probably since there's not enough time and the masses are against it.

But, if you analyze things very closely, running for Congress will not shield Mrs. Arroyo from possible cases to be filed by her detractors. In fact, being under the radar still after her term of office will not entirely insulate her from prosecution. Why?

People will still hound her after she steps down from power. There will still be numerous graft and possibly criminal cases to be filed against her which will all be harassment cases, seeing that there is still no law that actually encourages suits against a president while in office.

The most logical advise to Mrs. Arroyo is retirement, not running in office. Retire while you're ahead, says a sage. But, curiously, this is NOT what Mrs. Arroyo will do according to her closest advisers. She wants to still be in the public mind after 2010, which, obviously, pricks curiosity and some might even say, a purely irrational decision.

Likewise, this public pronouncement must not deter people who want change to really gun for Mrs. Arroyo's downfall. Why?

If This is true, then, expect a repeat of the Hello Garci scandal in 2010. This early, there are doubts as to the integrity of the automated elections. Those behind SMARTMATIC are close business associates of the First Gentleman and surely, they would serve as the silent "automators" come 2010. What would prevent these people from manipulating the results of the elections? And how would the administration really ensure a clean elections?

For us to erase our doubts, this administration really has to go. People really mistrust, rather, distrust the Arroyo regime. There will never be a clean elections if the Arroyos are still in power. Whether or not the Arroyo regime intends to use cha-cha, this is already irrelevant because even if we pursue the elections, this will still not be a very clean one, even only basing on the perception of the people.

I hate to say this, but, Mrs. Arroyo and her family have to go. There is no other way but exile for them. And I advise them to do it, resign and leave the country, for the sake of peace and unity.