NYT on Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

The editorial today on the NYT:

Repeated coup rumors and allegations of corruption in high places are destabilizing the Philippine government at a time when it needs more than ever to focus on repairing the battered economy and fighting poverty. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo must remove the ambiguity over whether she will run next May so she, and the country, can concentrate on the tasks that lie ahead. If Mrs. Arroyo chooses not to run, as she has previously vowed, she should declare this once and for all, rise above the fray and set about fulfilling some of her promises to reform the economy and the military. If she has changed her mind — and there is no shame in doing so — she should explain why and spell out what she would do with a new mandate.

The NYT is correct. She should declare as soon as possible so that all this uncertainty and unnecessary worry will be laid to rest. It's your call, Mrs. Arroyo.

Mrs. Arroyo is especially vulnerable because of the constitutionally shaky way in which she became president after Joseph Estrada was ousted in January 2001. When she declared last December that she would not run in 2004, it was taken as a positive sign that she would free herself from political considerations and grapple instead with the country's urgent problems. But since then she has been behaving very much like a candidate. She should come clean about her intentions, and so should her opponents. Manila's political class bears a collective responsibility to confine its squabbling to the ballot box, and to start providing Filipinos with solutions rather than plots and rumors.

Of all the potential presidential candidates, Sen. Panfilo Lacson is the only one who has declared his intention to run in 2004 so far. Everybody else is dilly-dallying and unwilling to make a commitment.

And it doesn't help that Mrs. Arroyo, her allies and some in the police were the ones spreading the rumors about the opposition being involved in bank robberies, kidnapping and coup-plotting.

GMA: Politicians behind some bank robberies

Politicians could have been behind some of the latest bank robberies in the country, President Arroyo said Monday.

"Regarding these bank hold-ups, we must now train our sights on the linkages of the underworld and those holding political power," she said without naming names or citing particular cases.

Flashback: Mrs. Arroyo's speech saying she won't run again

Key excerpts on GMA's speech:

However, we also know that we will soon enter the political period leading up to the elections in 2004. My reading on the political winds tells me that the 2004 election may well go down in history as among our most bitterly contested elections ever. This is because of the deep social and political division that we now have.

If this is true, then sincere efforts to launch programs will run the risk of being derailed by political fighting leading up to the elections.

The government in place after 2004 may merely end up inheriting a country as deeply divided as ever. Consequently, we may end up stalling national growth for a few years more as a result of lost momentum.

In view of all these factors, I have decided not to run for President during the election of 2004.

If I were to run, it will require a major political effort on my part. But since I'm among the principal figures in the divisive national events for the last two or three years, my political efforts can only result in never-ending divisiveness.

So, so, true... even more so today.