Fernando Capalla: ‘Popular uprising’ missing piece in GMA ouster

(UPDATED) From the Tribune:

The perceived pro-Arroyo archbishop yesterday echoed the Palace line on the reasons President Arroyo remains in office.

Unlike the 1986 and 2001 people's revolts which had the strong support of the public that led to the ouster of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos and now detained Joseph Estrada, respectively, Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla yesterday said the lack of “popular uprising” is the main reason remains in Malacañang. He stressed the Filipino people are already fed up with protests and mass actions which call for the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo.

“Maybe they (people) are tired (now). Unlike the martial law days,” Capalla, outgoing president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said.

He added another factor that might have contributed to the continued stay of Mrs. Arroyo in power is the lack of an opposition leader who could unseat the current administration and has no personal agenda other than the interest of the general public.

Capalla said those in the provinces are also not concerned with the political situation in the country.

He said unless a true leader would come out, it would be impossible to overthrow the current government.

Capalla parroted two Malacanang lines against the opposition:

1) Lack of popular uprising.
2) The Opposition has no leader or has presented no credible alternative.

Based on what he said above, is he saying na it's now okay for people to rise up and overthrow this administration if they can generate a "popular uprising"?

Is he saying na kung makahanap lang ng "credible alternative" ang opposition, ay hindi na siya aangal kung mapatalsik na si Arroyo?

I mean, why would he say something like that kung naniniwala siyang tunay na presidente si Arroyo? If he believes na tunay na halal si Arroyo, then he shouldn't even be giving advice to the opposition about "overthrowing governments" and finding an "opposition leader that can unseat Arroyo," period.

Is he finally conceding (grudgingly) na ninakaw ni Arroyo ang boto ng bayan, and it's up for the opposition (and us) to find a good alternative for her?

Let's tackle the his first issue: Lack of Popular Uprising.

I think mahirap mas mahirap ngayong mag People power dahil mas handa ang administration sa anumang people power attempts. And they won't hesitate to use the so called Calibrated Preemptive Response para mabilisang i-disperse ang mga rallies at gatherings (with violence if necessary), to nip any potential People power in the bud? So even if the anti-GMA groups are capable of people power, hindi sila pinapayagang makaporma.

Which means Cory and Susan will have a tougher time organizing a medium-sized rallies with the way the administration is strictily enforcing the "no permit, no rally" rule plus CPR.

But I believe in the end this administration will be ousted via another people power.

Anyways, back to Capalla. He taunts the anti-Arroyo groups for not being able to generate a "popular uprising" against Arroyo. Pero hindi ba siya rin yung Archbiship Fernando Capalla na unang sumuporta kaagad sa Calibrated Preemptive Response ni Arroyo nung inilabas na ito? CPR means the police and military can use violent force to preempt and disperse any rallies from forming.

At hindi ba si Capalla rin ang nagsasabi dati na wag nang magrally laban kay Arroyo dahil magiging istorbo lang ito sa mga businesses at klase? At people should "move on" na raw?

Now Capalla has the gall to complain about the "lack of popular uprising" as if he was for it in the first place? Ina mo!

Huli rin ni de Quiros ang double standard ni Capalla:

Then: “After due prayer and reflection… the Archdiocese of Manila officially supports the calls for President Joseph Estrada to resign…. This call on our part is not a violation of the constitutional principle of separation of Church and State. It is being made because of the moral dimension contained in the political issues.

“The local Church as partaker in the prophetic role of Jesus Christ, her Founder, declares that our main reason for denouncing the bad news personified by the Estrada presidency and administration is his shameless trampling of the sacred moral values our people hold in high esteem. (Archbishop Fernando Capalla, November 2000.)

Now: “In the spirit of humility and truth, we declare our prayerfully discerned collective decision that we do not demand her (Arroyo’s) resignation.” (Archbishop Capalla, after Arroyo admitted to “talking to a Comelec official” during the counting of votes.)

(And don't forget, hindi ba bawal nang mag-rally sa Edsa? At bawal na ring mag rally sa Mendiola (Manila) or any other cities na hawak ng mga pro-Arroyo mayors without a permit? Tapos, yung iisang mayor (the only one in Metro Manila) na nagbibigay ng rally permits sa mga anti-Arroyo groups ay hindi na pinayagang magbigay ng permit ng Arroyo admin.

I think this admin has learned from the past mistakes of Marcos and Erap, and they are much more prepared now prevent another Edsa... by declaring Edsa a no-rally zone. ;) )

Capalla's second issue: The Opposition has no leader or has presented any credible alternative

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but sino ba ang "leader" ng Edsa Dos movement? Who led the movement? I know Edsa 1986 had a leader--si Cory Aquino. Pero sino ang "leader" ng Edsa Dos?

(And don't effin tell me it's Arroyo--late na siya sa Edsa Dos bandwagon. She did not lead, she only benefitted from Edsa dos.)

There wasn't any "one leader" in Edsa Dos. But there were many leaders, many people who contributed to Erap's downfall.

Cory contributed. Cardinal Sin contributed. Ramos contributed. Fr. Reyes Contributed. Joker Arroyo contributed. All of them contributed more to Erap's downfall than little GMA.

Yung binombahan ng tubig, si Tito Guingona, he did more for Edsa Dos and was a bigger foe of Erap than GMA.

Yung bata ni Arroyo, si Mike Defensor, he and his Spice Boys did more to damage erap than GMA.

Even columnist Conrad de Quiros, through his articles did more to bury Erap than GMA.

Among all the Edsa Dos personalities, GMA is the least liked and least popular. Most of the people who went to Edsa Dos would rather see Raul Roco take over the presidency. Pero GMA was erap's "constitutional successor," so they held their nose and accepted GMA as their "new president."

So the movement to oust GMA is similar to the one against Erap. There are is not one main leader in the movement, but many leaders, like Susan, Cory, Ping, Bro Eddie, Fr. Reyes, Tito Guingona, Pimentel, the Black and White Movement, etc.

As for the lack of "credible alternatives" or replacements for Arroyo, that is total BS.

If new elections were held today, the opposition's Serge Osmena, Ping Lacson or Nene Pimentel would be more than adequate to replace GMA. (Sa adminstration side naman ay sina Bayani Fernando, Mar Roxas, at Dick Gordon)

IMO, the reason why nobody would come out and claim GMA's presidency is because nobody has a legitimate claim to it (not even Noli de Cashtro, and certainly not GMA).

Only new credible elections will determine who will replace GLORIA.

Ping Lacson and Eddie Villanueva can't claim the presidency and install themselves as president since they finished 3rd and 4th respectively.

Serge Osmena, Bayani Fernando, Mar Roxas, and other worthy candidates can't claim the presidency since they didn't run in the first place.

Susan Roces can't claim the presidency since asawa lang siya ni FPJ.

Noli de Castro can't claim the presidency since nandaya si Arroyo. If we allow Noli to takeover, para mo na ring sinabi na si Arturo Tolentino ang dapat pumalit kay Marcos nung nahuling nandaya siya. Insane. Temporary president lang si Noli until we elect a new president.

The only person who can say na siya talaga ang tunay na presidente ay si FPJ. Pero patay na siya. But even if it was proven back in 2004 na nandaya si GMA, hindi automatic na magiging presidente kaagad si FPJ. We would have to have new elections to elect a new legit president.

(Erap can also claim the presidency or run for president if he is found not guilty in court on corruption charges. But is there even a possibility of that happening?

If Erap is found not guilty of all the charges against him, then what would that tell us about Edsa Dos, na it's a BIG LIE? That it was just a blatant power grab?)