Max Lane
According to the July Pulse Asia survey, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyos's approval rating has hit rock bottom at 19%, a further dip from 25% in June. Three out of four people want her to step down and some 80% in Metro Manila want her to resign or be impeached.
Since August 3, almost every day more whistle-blowers have come out in the Philippines media with reports of Arroyo's or her supporters' involvement in using money from illegal gambling syndicates to bribe election commission officials.
Despite her extremely low popularity and the daily blows to her credibility in the media, it is unlikely that the current impeachment process in the House of Representatives will succeed. The pro-Arroyo political parties of the landed and urban business clans, made up of what Filipinos call the trapols [dish-rag traditional politicians], still have a firm majority.
The impeachment charges against Arroyo were presented by the minority opposition parties, who accused Arroyo of violation of the constitution, betrayal of public trust, bribery, graft and corruption. Specific charges include undermining the electoral commission; conspiring to cheat in the elections along with the former head of the electoral commission and some military generals; accepting money from illegal gambling; failing to declare ownership of assets in the Philippines and overseas; human rights violations such as the killing of political activists; and abuse of funds transmitted by overseas Filipino workers, which were channelled towards Arroyo's election campaign expenses.
Only 41 members of the House of Representatives signed the impeachment papers. If 79 had signed it, the impeachment would have gone straight to the Senate, where pro- and anti-Arroyo forces are more finely balanced. If the impeachment is successful, this could lead to the constitutional successor, vice-president Noli de Castro, taking over the presidency.
There are two groupings of left progressive members in the House of Representatives. The Laban ng Masa (Struggle of the Masses) coalition has five people aligned with it in Congress: Three members representing Akbayan, one member from the Workers Party (PM), which is closely connected with Filipinio Workers Solidarity (BMP), and one member from Anak Mindanao.
The second grouping is the Bayan bloc comprising Bayan Muna with three members, Anakpawis with two members and the Gabriela Women's Party with one member. Both these left groupings are supporting the impeachment process, though sometimes with qualifications.
Rene Magtubo, PM member of the house, told Green Left Weekly: "Our position is one of qualified support. Even if the impeachment complaint is successful, the outcome of this will be Noli de Castro, another trapo and another trapo government of the elite, not a genuine government change in the interests of the masses.
"There is also still a strong possibility that impeachment could be used to cover up the truth, because the majority in the Congress are still with Arroyo. So PM still hasn't signed the complaint for impeachment. But when the time comes, when our vote is needed, we will vote to impeach GMA. We have explained our position to the Congress opposition. So we still have a tactical alliance with them. We still work together.
"But if we push through with the impeachment, we could use some of the issues uncovered to agitate the people. It could trigger another uprising, as was the case when Erap [former president Joseph Estrada] was ousted. Here the [subversion of the] impeachment process triggered the mass movement upsurge, when the opposition senators walked out in disgust ...
"But the principal tactic of the mass movement should not be for the impeachment but for the ouster of Gloria and the establishment of a TRG [transitional revolutionary government]."
Akbayan's position was summarised to GLW by leader Etta Rosales: "I think we should give full support for impeachment. The process will bring out all 'the goods' against GMA. It should be fully supported by the mass movement ... Of course we know that the system is stacked against us. We didn't enter the Congress with our eyes closed. Patronage politics will dominate over the small progressive bloc in Congress. But I think the battle is a continuos struggle of ideas ...
"Many provisions in the constitution have been won through political struggle. These need to be protected and popularised amongst the people ... "Impeachment proceedings is an arena of struggle. We may lose. So what? The point is to politicise the people.
"All of Laban ng Masa is for a transitional revolutionary government as a political call. Its realisation can only be undertaken if we have a critical, material base [of support]. Then we can dictate the terms. But right now we don't have that ... [so] we should try to enhance what's progressive, in the constitution, even in Congress, and struggle for this."
"We must engage in the political struggle and form an alliance with the minority in Congress", Rosales said. The left's failure to engage would be "a form of elitism. The impeachment process must be supported through mass campaigns, lobbying, etc."
Satur Ocampo explained to GLW that Bayan Muna's position is "for Arroyo to step down. But in the House of Representatives, it's our duty to participate in the impeachment and constitutional process."
"Bayan Muna", Ocampo said, "is not only endorsing the impeachment but is also a complainant. One of our main contributions is the charge that she has betrayed the public trust in relation to the killing of political activists, as well as the abuse of funds transmitted by overseas Filipino workers. So we are actively participating in the impeachment process.
"But we are not entirely relying on this. For example, if the articles for impeachment are dismissed on technicalities, we may have to resort to public action. The mass movement is to some degree supportive of the impeachment process, but it reserves its right to campaign in the light of new evidence."
Laban ng Masa convener Fransico Nemenzo told GLW that "Laban ng Masa believes that impeachment is a futile exercise. Given the current balance of forces in Congress, the numbers are stacked against the opposition. If ever it succeeds, the result is more problematic as the people are back to square one. GMA will only be replaced by Noli de Castro — another trapo who is also a beneficiary of GMA's massive cheating in the 2004 elections. Aside from his reputation as an 'envelopmental' [i.e. easily bribed] journalist, his track record in public office does not offer any whiff of inspiration.
"Given the current impasse in the battle for Arroyo's ouster, it is understandable for the elite opposition to go by their own rules of prosecuting an illegitimate president through impeachment. The charges they have levelled against Arroyo represent the core issues that underpin the basis for her ouster. Although Laban ng Masa harbours no false hopes that the ultimate resolution of Arroyo's crimes against the people and the nation could be achieved through impeachment, the Congressional proceedings could nonetheless be a significant avenue to ventilate the issues. It could provide an arena to further ferret out the truth from Arroyo's lies and deception.
"It is but only in the above framework that our party list representatives in Congress are supporting the impeachment track.
"Laban ng Masa reiterates its call for Filipinos to exercise their sovereign will of revolting against an illegitimate regime through direct people's actions, such as civil disobedience and paralysing mass actions, including the participation of patriotic men and women in the military and police."
From Green Left Weekly, August 17, 2005.
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