Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s autobiography is entitled Deus Ex Machina. It is Latin and is defined as “an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.”
It is understandable why she picked this as its title as it is particularly apt for the major life events she went through as the daughter of President Diosdado Macapagal, her pursuit of academic excellence, her venturing into the academe and later on, government as a bureaucrat and running for elective office. She is the first child of a President to follow in his footsteps to the highest office in the land. This would be repeated again when Benigno Aquino III, would succeed her as President when she stepped down in 2010.
The tumultuous period in her life began in 1998 when she became the runningmate of Jose De Venecia and ended in 2016 when she was finally released from detention at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City. Except for a short respite of three years in between the allowed nine year terms as a Congresswoman, she has not retired from politics.
She continues to be active in playing a significant role in shaping the country’s political history. She is the only politician who has headed two branches of government, serving as President for nine years, which is a record in itself, and being elected as the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2018 before ending her term as Congresswoman.
She is running in place of her son again in the second district of Pampanga. She was instrumental in facilitating the formation of the Marcos-Duterte ticket in the May election with Presidential daugher Sara Duterte becoming a member of Lakas-CMD and being proclaimed as its Vice-Presidential candidate. It is more than likely that she will again be elected Speaker of the House should Ferdinand Marcos Jr. be elected President on May 9. She is turning 75 years old tomorrow, April 5.
GMA is also the most unpopular President in the history of the country. This is primarily due to the manner which she came to power. Joseph Estrada was ousted in a civil-military coup similar to that which did in Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1986. Erap was the runaway winner in the 1998 Presidential contest. That was known the minute he won the Presidency in 1992. He was very popular with the masses and they never forgot an injustice done to their idol.
It did not help that the manner in which GMA achieved her victories against rivals were always tinged by the perception of irregularities. This would happen again in 2004 when she ran for President again, even when she stated that she would only serve the unexpired portion of Erap’s term. She reveals that while this was her inclination, it was Jaime Cardinal Sin who told her to run in 2004 since she would surely win.
She would go on to defeat Fernando Poe Jr. by only one million votes in a race which was perceived to be marred by fraud. A recording of her speaking to Comelec Regional Director Virgilio Garcillano surfaced and again made the public doubt the validity of her electoral victory. This issue is for another day as what is important is to make the public aware of how she incurred the ire of the Aquino-Cojuangco family, paricularly Cory and Noynoy.
The above are screenshots from the book itself as GMA tells the story of how how she came to know of the plot by her Cabinet members, who eventually came to be known as the Hyatt 10, to resign en masse and withdraw support from her administration. But prior to this, Cory Aquino, accompanied by a coterie of Catholic bishops, paid a call to her at Malacanan, to ask her to make the “supreme sacrifice” of stepping down as President.
All of us are aware of what happened after PNoy began his term. He did not take his oath of office before then Chief Justice Renato Corona. Then Secretary of Justice Leila De Lima went after GMA and then she began her five-year detention at the VMMC. But unlike De Lima, who claims she is a political prisoner, GMA kept her peace and abided by the guidelines of her “hospital arrest.”
Corona was later impeached by the House of Representatives without the benefit of any hearing by the House Committee on Justice. The vote did not even reach the plenary and was railroaded by then House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. PNoy had to buy the Senator’s votes to ensure Corona’s conviction. Only three Senators voted for Corona’s acquital namely Joker Arroyo, Miriam Defensor Santiago and Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Aquino would later turn against the Senators who he perceived to be his family’s political enemies by siccing De Lima on them again. Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jose Ejercito were arrested and detained for the pork barrel scam involving Janet Lim Napoles.
GMA never shirked from any battle she had to face. Each and everytime her enemies write her off, she has come back with a vengeance. It is for this reason that she will never allow a return to power of the Yellowidiots. Not while she is still alive and kicking. She also played a role in convincing Rodrigo Duterte to run for President. It is not only former President Fidel Ramos who has close ties to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, but also GMA as the Linden Suites in the Ortigas Central Business District served as the nerve center of the groups which ousted Erap. Arroyo knew that if Mar Roxas won, the prospects of her release from detention would be dim.
It would appear that GMA still has unfinished business in her mind. While largely unpopular, she is credited with laying the groundwork for economic and fiscal reforms which enabled the Philippines to grow despite the financial crises which rocked the global economy during her watch. These were further amplified during the administration of her successor, who really left it to his economic managers to attend to economic policy. Ironically, these were mostly the same Cabinet officials whom GMA fired.
Should Marcos win on May 9, the Philippines can look forward to the future with a positive outlook given how it looks that for the first time in thrity years, the whole of government is united behind the leadership triumvirate of Marcos, Duterte and Arroyo, all scions of former Presidents.
GMA would like the Filipino to believe that her life events is destiny at play. A closer look would lead a critical thinker to believe that it is a combination of destiny and her taking advantage of the opportunities that come her way. It is also the product of her ability to read the political environment in the country to her advantage. Arroyo is also one who plays her cards close to her chest. Just look at how she kept her silence up to the last minute before making her move to cement the formation of the Marcos-Duterte ticket.
Come June 2022, the Philippines will basically be under the rule of strong women; GMA, Sara Duterte, Liza Araneta Marcos and Imee Marcos. Leni Robredo cannot even come close to the collective intellectual capacities of these women who have no need to play the gender and victim card like she does. They define what strong women are.
Comments