Chiz becomes president if elections fail, says pending bill

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Does Chiz know that he stands to benefit from a failure of the 2010 elections? Is this the reason why Chiz is dilly-dally or fidgeting in deciding to run for president?

A bill pending in Congress seeks a solution to possible power vacuum in the event of a failure of the 2010 elections. The bill, authored by Nueva Ecija Congressman Edno Joson, proposes a transition president in case of a declaration of an election failure. Joson proposes that the no. 1 Senator elected in 2007 and whose term ends in 2013, be designated as transition president. If the senator refuses the role, the responsibility goes to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.


The bill is enjoying tremendous support in the Lower Chamber, and great is the possibility that legislators will pass it. Now, if the elections fail, according to the bill, it would be Loren Legarda who will assume the post.


Since Legarda will be running as vice presidential bet of Nacionalista party Manny Villar, and definitely public sentiments will go against her assuming the presidency, the onus transfers to Chiz Escudero.


Escudero got the second highest number of votes last 2007 elections. Hi term ends in 2013. If he elects not to run for any elective post in 2010, Escudero would just have to wait for the elections to fail and he would assume the presidency.


Now, if Escudero do decides to run, then, it would have to be Senator Edgardo Angara who will act as transition president. Angara’s term ends in 2013.


One major stumbling block—Norberto Gonzales, the defense secretary cum ideologue cum GMA stooge.


Gonzales is there to protect the interests of the Arroyo mafia. He’s there to provide ideological muscle. In the future, Gonzales role will be very important, first as Gloria’s Rasputin in case this administration declares an emergency and converts itself into a dictatorial regime or as a catalyst for the military to shift allegiance.


Gonzales, obviously, would do what his principal orders him to do. Escudero’s alignment with the Magdalo does not sit well for Gonzales, who, as a clerico-fascist, positions himself at the extreme of the political spectrum. Gonzales is there to preserve the gains of the Arroyo mafia insofar as the military is concerned.


Now, will Gonzales' gang snatch power from Escudero's group? That is likely since under the bill, the incumbent president is not the one who serves as the transition head. Only a coup from within would extend Mrs. Arroyo's term.



Clearly, what is to be expected come 2010 is the clash between Gonzales and Escudero’s group. Their clash will obviously create a push and pull effect which will eventually split the country’s military in half. If this happens, a power vacuum is likely to happen.

Update on Oplan August Moon

Malacanang and the Civil Relations service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines just denied the purported self-coup called Oplan August Moon. The palace spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said that there's no such plan. While AFP Spokesman Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. also denied it.

Of course, they'll deny it but in Philippine society, chismis or what we call malicious or loose talk is more often than not, partially true.

Oplan August Moon, as some sources say, intends to shorten the term of AFP Chief of Staff General Victor Ibrado. The plan reportedly involves black ops teams whose mission is to "create a scenario of destabilization". This scenario involves alleged bombings, assasinations and rise of criminal activity within July onto August 6. Malacanang and the AFP will blame the Jemaah Islamiyah for these things.

August 6, as sources say, is the start of the campaign against Ibrado to culminate either in a forceful seizure of power to install a "revolutionary government" headed by Mrs. Arroyo or force a resignation of Ibrado come the first week of October 2009. Malacanang will blame Ibrado for an alleged failure to instill discipline among the ranks. One option, says these sources, is for the self-coup to fail and they'll point to Ibrado as the one who headed it. That will surely force the C-S to resign. When that happens, Lt. General Delfin Bangit will succeed him to the C-S post.

Ibrado, as some of these people say, will suffer the same fate as that of General Danny Lim.

These plotters, as sources say, intend to justify their move using the failure of the poll automation as an ideological platform. In truth, what this group intends is to prolong the term of Mrs. Arroyo's regime through martial rule. They will use this issue to justify their action.

Likewise, there is truth to talks that some ideologues in Malacanang are thinking about this option in view of the fact that Speaker Prospero Nograles Jr. just lost 47 Congressmen, mostly from Lakas, in the charter change fight. These Congressmen, as some insiders within the Lower House say, will withdraw their signatures from House Resolution 1109.

The plan reportedly by the palace to use Senator Lito Lapid to attend a session in Congress seems credible. Lapid reportedly will attend a session shortly after the SONA to try and express the support of the Senate. His presence will be used by cha-cha adherents to justify the convening of Congress. However, there's a problem. They now lack the required number of Congressmen to support HR 1109.

So, some sources say, palace hawks and ideologues are shifting gears---from the legal to the criminal. And they would surely fail, says Senator Ping Lacson. They will be courting death.

A coup needs the support of junior military officers. The key here is for junior officers to withdraw their support, as some sources suggest, from the chain of command. Military officers have the right not to act upon an illegal order. This is the only way for this self-coup to fail, and fail miserably.