‘Noli
phobia saving GMA’
By Edu Punay
It was a choice between the
ouster of
President Arroyo and a chance to win in the 2010
presidential race.
Presidential hopefuls are staying away from moves calling for the resignation or ouster of the President amid allegations of rampant corruption in her administration, not just to ensure
elections in 2010 - but more importantly, to prevent the convenient victory of Vice President Noli de Castro, an election
lawyer said yesterday.
Lawyer Romulo Macalintal believes that politicians eyeing the presidency want Mrs. Arroyo to finish her term “not for anything else but because they are afraid to face the Vice President who would be a very formidable presidential bet as a sitting president.”
“With the recent dismissal of a protest filed by Sen. Loren Legarda by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal and his (De Castro’s) being a strong number one in surveys for the 2010 polls, these presidential hopefuls would rather have GMA (President Arroyo) finish her term and have equal playing field with him (De Castro),” Macalintal told The STAR.
The lawyer explained that De Castro was able to prove that he won in the 2004 elections fair and square – contrary to Legarda’s claim of massive fraud – through the ruling of the PET.
“As De Castro has proven his ability and competence to lead our country and to do the task assigned to him as Vice President. He has not been involved in any anomaly and has maintained himself as one who could be trusted to manage the affairs of the government. Thus, no presidential hopeful would dare let him reign as a sitting president running for the same position with all resources of the government on his side,” Macalintal explained.
Former senator Francisco Tatad reportedly said that presidential aspirants have been keeping their distance from mass actions calling for the President to step down because they want her to hold on for two more years to ensure the holding of elections in 2010.
Tatad said the absence of the so-called presidentiables in last Friday’s protest actions only indicates that they want Mrs. Arroyo to remain in office so as not to derail their political ambitions.
He also noted that key players for the 2010 presidential derby have not taken active roles to support calls for Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster.
Tatad noted that the current political crisis involving the administration is different from the crises that ousted two sitting presidents in popular revolts in 1986 and 2001 because these were supported by the military and the Church.
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