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Philippines President Between Estrada And Military
by Kazi Mahmood for IslamOnline
SINGAPORE, March 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A defiant Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Philippines, said Friday she did not fear the military as pressure mounted towards her as young military cadets promised to storm her palace and expose her links to communists.
Arroyo is also facing pressure from the Philippines Supreme Court (SC), halting the government's moves towards arresting deposed former president Joseph Estrada.
Estrada promised Arroyo, his vice president until her takeover, tough times and said he is not going to vanish from the political scene.
The recent SC ruling blocking any attempt to arrest Estrada has given the former president hope that he may eventually make a grand return on the political scene after fresh elections next month.
Estrada is pushing hard for the removal of Arroyo, saying that the peace dialogue she has offered to communists and Muslims in Mindanao were useless and a waste of time.
He attacked her peace efforts saying that Muslim separatists in particular would take advantage of the situation to secede from the country. She has also been accused of bowing to the pressures by the military.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) states that Arroyo's regime is surviving thanks to military support and that she is a pawn in a political script drawn by army chiefs.
Arroyo's political opponents forced her on Thursday to dismiss accusations that she has been coddling the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and trying to appease servicemen to keep them from becoming restive and rebellious.
She also defended her choice of government executives, mainly ex-servicemen and former top military brass, saying that she is selecting people who would help her run the Philippines professionally.
The non-practicing lawyer declared that the military has fought hard and worked well, thus they "deserve to be treated well and treated with respect."
"I do not have to be afraid of you, my soldiers. In fact, I feel safe with you because you are an army that is constitutionally oriented and with the well-developed culture of professionalism," Arroyo said in a speech.
The Chief Executive said military officers and enlisted men "are not children asking for lollipops," but professional soldiers.
Meanwhile, Arroyo vowed to carry out "transparency in all government actions including military transactions."
The move was in apparent response to corruption cases allegedly involving high-ranking military officials.
The President also urged the AFP to help the government address three "urgent" priorities.
"At this moment, the urgent priorities are internal security, the fight against poverty and the reconstruction of the peace process."
The MILF said it suspected the military was not in total accordance with Arroyo on the peace process in Mindanao, accusing the AFP of deliberately attacking MILF bases.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court justices on Wednesday barred the government from arresting Estrada until after the court resolves the legality of his ouster.
The high court ordered Arroyo's government to comment on Estrada's motion within 10 working days reiterating the government may not indict him on criminal charges until the court rules on the case "with finality."
The court order had the practical effect of extending the provisional stay against Estrada's arrest.
The High court has been warned that it could face public protest if the arrest of Estrada for siphoning off government money were not carried out soon. Observers said this would be tantamount to allowing Estrada to escape from criminal accusations brought against him.
In a 37-page motion for reconsideration, Estrada's lawyer Dean Pacifico Agabin asked the SC to extend its earlier 30-day status quo order.
In his latest pleading to the tribunal, Agabin reiterated his theory that the failure of the Senate impeachment trial to convict Estrada in January should be treated as having resulted in the latter's acquittal.
A "walkout" by the House prosecution panel on Estrada's impeachment trial last January 16th had prompted the impeachment court to adjourn and dissolve itself.
Arroyo's administration has filed before the Ombudsman at least 10 corruption complaints against the former president.
Estrada is charged with unexplained possession of wealth, taking bribes from illegal jueteng (lottery) operators, embezzling government funds, extorting money from businessmen, saving friends from government regulators, and taking kickbacks from the illegal use of pension funds.
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