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It was chilling to witness thousands of people come together last
week in Makati.
The religious, laity, professionals,
businessmen, bums, students, parents and their small children
assembled in a massive display of numbers. It was a reminder that
there are still people, a lot of them, who will not always put up
with what’s going on.
Some argue that allegations of corruption
against this government will never hold water in court. Perhaps. But
that is not an assurance that what was alleged never happened.
The sheer number of people in Makati last Friday
is clear proof that many people are not looking for proof.
I suppose it’s something like a wife who
suspects her husband is playing around. She can feel it in her gut.
The Filipino has had this gut feeling for decades, before and after
martial law.
The rally was a manifestation of the swelling
public sentiment against what is perceived as a pervasive and
unabashed culture of corruption in the highest echelons of
government.
This tension can possibly be taking either of
two paths to a boiling point where violence erupts or a temporary
easing until another scandal breaks out and tension rises up again.
President Gloria Arroyo has faced similar threats in the past.
But what makes this one different is Jun Lozada.
Unlike before, now we have somebody to fix our eyes on, similar to
how we had Cory Aquino in 1986 and Arroyo in 2001.
Lozada appears so pedestrian it is easy for the
thousands of us to identify with him. That’s his charm that allows
many people to look beyond the sins he himself acknowledged.
Wasn’t it Joseph Estrada’s bad boy, Robin Hood charm that
endeared him to millions? The Probinsyanong Intsik has the same
appeal.
But Lozada notwithstanding, observers believe
that the intensity of the situation can be sustained easily if more
exposés against President Arroyo are floated. This would strengthen
the already low public regard resulting from the Senate
investigation of the ZTE controversy.
There are other scandals waiting to be mined:
election cheating, patronage politics, the fertilizer scam and the
cyber education project.
They believe that the possibility to sustain the
tension is high, although they believe that anti-Arroyo politicians
will have to come up with more credible witnesses in the ZTE probe,
at least, to sustain the momentum. They think that Jun Lozada and
Dante Madriaga have too much baggage to make them truly credible
witnesses.
Another way to keep the momentum is if those
against Arroyo could unequivocally prove that she is involved in one
of these scandals.
But the multitude who showed up last week is
already an indication that the different groups are in full
mobilizing mode against her.
What’s striking is that non-traditional
sectors like the students, businessmen and professional groups are
also more involved now than in previous times. What’s even more
striking is that the more conservative subsection of the youth,
those from Catholic educational institutions, has become involved.
And since participants of the movement are
members of the religious orders, civil society and business, the
action is not expected to go the way of the so-called EDSA III where
Estrada supporters stormed Malacañang, hurling rocks at police in
a direct confrontation.
Rallyists are more likely to be clutching
rosaries and candles, so the police cannot be expected to confront
them with batons or gunfire. The role of the police would be limited
to maintaining peace and order and protecting them from saboteurs
from any interest group.
Subsequent rallies would be a good opportunity
for our security forces to display their loyalty to institutions,
not personalities.
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