Much Ado About Nothing

Remember when Bush went here on a State visit about 6 years ago. GMA was so happy about it that she decided to renege on her promise before Jose Rizal's monument not to run for presidency. She believed Bush's unofficial anointing would be enough reason to break her word.

If GMA took advantage of every exposure she had with bumbling Bush (she and her countrymen being the butt of Bush's jokes, notwithistanding), what more of a popular U.S. president in the person of Obama?

A news report says that GMA was giddy after talking to Obama over the phone, with the conversation revolving mainly around the VFA. And I'm sure that GMA's men will milk this event and portray the two presidents as best buddies (or something to that effect). But really, what's the fuss? Obama spoke not just with GMA that day. He also talked to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia and to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. In other words, Obama was just doing his presidential duty of checking up on his country's "allies" - nothing more to it.

Furthermore, the phone call doesn't change the fact that VFA is grossly against our favor. The Inquirer report said it best:

[Palawan Rep. Abraham] Mitra said Obama’s charm did not boost the merits of having a VFA.

"His blackberry call might be a special moment for the President but it should not trigger a euphoric celebration for the rest of us. The US can invoke the VFA when it suits them but in the same vein, they can disown it when it threatens their interest as in the case of Smith. If Obama had told the President that Smith will be turned over to us, then that would have made our day, a change in policy that we could believe in," said Mitra in a text message.

Photo: Enrique Dans, Flickr, Creative Commons

Crucified Superstars

I wonder why congressman Pablo Garcia has not been struck by lightning for comparing GMA with Jesus Christ.Wendell Vigilia of Malaya reports:

REP. Pablo Garcia (Kampi, Cebu) yesterday compared President Arroyo to Jesus Christ saying she is being persecuted by the opposition based only on mere perception, the same way Pontius Pilate turned over Christ to the mob to be crucified.

"Our Lord Jesus Christ lost in the survey and he was crucified and that’s how we’re going to judge President?" he asked the committee on justice.

Traditionally, Philippine presidents' approval ratings decline right after the so-called honeymoon period. But GMA is a special case. At least her predecessors did not have negative dissatisfaction ratings. GMA has never experienced a positive net satisfaction rating since 2004. A negative dissatisfaction rating for more than 3 years - that is no fluke. And not for an arbitrary reason: she has been hounded by legitimacy and corruption issues throughout her rule.

GMA should even be thankful that she is only being crucified in the opinion polls. If Garcia and his ilk had done their jobs right, GMA would have been rightly banished from her seat and punished for her transgressions. Jesus Christ she is not.

But come to think of it, there is a similarity between the two. Jesus Christ's act of multiplying bread and fish to feed the multitude made him even more famous; GMA's act of multiplying her own votes to keep feeding congressmen made her even more infamous. 

They're comparable in that respect.

Photo: Marcelo Moura, SXC

Oust the Imp

GMA's penchant for committing impeachable offenses year in and year out never ceases to amaze me. And her actions reflect her unpopularity.

Being a popular president does not make him a good one. Being an unpopular president does not make her a bad one either. Indeed, a president has to make unpopular decisions when needed. But GMA is a special case. Her decisions are not favorably received because they are just patently wrong.

Do we have to endure two more years of her rule? Oust the Imp emphatically says NO: 

The more we say let’s just make Gloria finish her term, the more they rob and steal us of our monies. It’s time to expose Gloria’s transgressions against the People. Time to make her pay.

Why wait when there is an opportunity to banish her right now? To quote Rage Against the Machine:

It has to start somewhere,
It has to start sometime.
What better place than here?

What better time than now?

 Attention honorable congressmen!

Photo: Keith Bacongco, Flickr, Creative Commons