Empire Strikes Back: Signs of Creeping Martial Law

(2nd of 3 parts)



After the battlefield was prepared, the next phase in any war involves preparing the mechanism that makes it possible to stage offensives. Arroyo, in her war for political survival, believes that her battle had already reached this stage. Her desperation to stay in power now compels her to use anything and anyone to strike at her opponents, even at the expense of being more controversial and unpopular.

Empire Strikes Back: Signs of Creeping Martial Law

(1st of 3 parts)

Blaise Pascal once stated, “Law, without force, is impotent.” Arroyo may have misunderstood Pascal when she used law, and now force, to conceal and ultimately protect her from her impotence against the tide of questions on her legitimacy. In an effort to thwart the upsurge of protests and mass actions, Arroyo does a repeat of what had happened weeks before the dark days of Marcos dictatorship.

Economic Terror: E-VAT and the Looming Consumer Crisis

Together with the political crisis that grips the presidency of Gloria Arroyo comes another crisis brutal in its scope and consequence. With a vote of 15-0, the Supreme Court (SC) finally decided that the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) Law is constitutional. While hopes of the administration for greater revenues are high after a legal success, the Filipino public in turn succumbs in fear of astronomical prices.

Changing Gears: Issues on Charter Change and Structural Reforms

When former President Corazon Aquino and Senate President Franklin Drilon called for her resignation, former President Fidel Ramos came up precisely what President Arroyo needed at her moment of political crisis – an alternative. The alternative would be to call for a Charter Change that would inevitably cut her term short. Grudgingly, Arroyo seemed to swallow the proposal – hook, line and sinker.

Whether the public should subscribe to the Ramos alternative – federalism, parliamentarism, unicameralism – or not, depends not only on how efficient the government will become under such a system, but also on how effective it will be in upholding democratic ideals. It is thus an imperative for us to know the features of such a government.