“I’M tired of chasing the bullies around the schoolyard," Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told a gathering of local officials in Pampanga the other day. "Those who would heed my call for unity and reconciliation, they are welcome. But those who would keep on creating disturbance, we're on top of the situation. Our barangay officials will enforce the rule of law."
The metaphor is wrong. Those who criticize her from the streets have no power other than their banners and voices. They are not the school bullies who can browbeat the weak into submission. And she is not the teacher who can use the moral and administrative authority of her position to restore order. She is the unelected bully who deploys coercive and remunerative means to maintain her hold on people.
It is unfortunate that Ms Arroyo uses the school as an analogue for society. The school is founded on dialogue and reason. Her regime is founded on deceit, bribery and intimidation. She conspired with a top election official to manipulate election results in the 2004 presidential election. She has freely used public funds and appointments to choice government posts to buy loyalty and secure political advantage. And now she is threatening to use more force to stop the rallies against her.
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