Strange Article, Strange Suggestion

Nabigla ako dito sa strange article mo MLQ3. "Referendum on Estrada"

Ummm... erap's been out of office for 5 years already, tapos "referendum on Erap" pa? Shouldn't it be a referendum on Arroyo's illegitimacy and administration instead?

And let's have A REAL REFERENDUM for god's sake. A yes-or-no vote on Arroyo's stay in power. And not the kind "One Voice" is proposing.

You want erap to run again for the Senate in 2007? Bakit pa? I did not support Edsa Dos, but I don't want erap to run again for office either. Too divisive. Same with Arroyo. Tapos illegitimate pa si maam. For once, I agree with the partisan defenders of the Arroyo administration when they criticized the idea.

Rego:

if erap is guilty as charge, 5 years in jail is not the corresponding punishment... What Earp referendum? Do the people deserve to subjected to such choice again it?

Don’t we have enough of Erap?. Is nt putting Erap back in Malacanang or even in senate a step backward against what we really wanted to achieved? Jinggoy and loi is already in teh senate and looks like JV is going to the senate too ( if the May 2007 election will push through). With that should we still miss Erap in the senate????

Domingo Arong:

Erap, GMA, the Marcoses, and all incumbents including those who have ever been an incumbent elective official since 1946 and members of their immediate families (DYNASTY) should be barred from running for any elective position during the next or any other election ever.

Rego:

But Erap again????? Pleeaaassseeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Besides, erap still sees himself as the president, at ninakaw lang ni Arroyo ang kapangyarihan sa kanya. If he runs for the senate, then he is virtually conceding na si Arroyo na talaga ang tunay na presidente. Sorry, but i don't see that happening at all.

But if you really want erap to run again, MLQ3, maybe the only way he'll do it again is if he runs for president one more time (via snap elections), which he will probably win.

At matatangal na naman siya sa isang edsa coup.

So wag na lang.

Since Ms Arroyo can’t move on, Estrada should (and offer the country the chance to) move on, too. Forget the argument that Estrada is still President. His support for Fernando Poe Jr. proved that life is not like science fiction. Time cannot stop, it continues. But time is running out. The only thing that can stop Estrada from running for senator is a parliament, and the administration knows this.

Even if erap wins a senate seat, may chance pa rin na baka maa-abolish ang senado if Malacanang had their way.

(Heh. Maybe that is the point. ;) )

Here’s a question: can our country afford the continuing division? In her closest brush with statesmanship, President Macapagal-Arroyo said the country couldn’t afford to be permanently divided, and offered herself as a sacrifice. That period of sacrifice proved short-lived, and the division continues. The debate is now reduced to: which of three things—time, a new constitution, or bayonet—will put an end to that division?

All false choices, MLQ3. And how can a new Arroyo constitution heal the divisions within our country? You're way off, Kuya Manuel.

The only surefire way to heal the division within is for Arroyo to be removed from power, then hold special elections to replace her.

Some time ago I wrote that Estrada deserved a speedy resolution of the charges leveled against him. It seems clear, though, that the government can’t afford a verdict handed down either way (if Estrada is acquitted, administration allies will rebel; if he’s convicted, his mass base will be infuriated); so, paralyzed by the political dilemma presented by Estrada, its solution is to keep him in detention and drag out the trial. At this point, the country should have already known if it owed Estrada an apology or if he should stay in jail (where he could decide on accepting or rejecting a pardon). It still doesn’t, and I don’t see how our people will ever know—or whether, by now, anyone can still hold the opinion—that Estrada has gotten a fair trial.

Nah, i don't think arroyo's allies will be all that upset if erap is convicted, then pardoned. I believe that's what the arroyo admin intends to do after 2007.

So what's really on your mind, Manuel? ;)

UPDATE: Yes, 2007.

Despite its much publicized efforts to reconcile with the camp of deposed President Joseph Estrada, Malacañang yesterday refused to give any commitment on the proposed release of the ousted leader next year when he turns 70 years old.

This was the Palace’s reaction to the statement of lawyer Leonard de Vera, convenor of Equal Justice for All Movement, who said Estrada should be released once he turns 70 years old next year based on Memorandum Circular (MC) 155 issued by President Arroyo on Nov. 17, 2004, which granted executive clemency to convicts who are 70 years old and above.

Hindi ba Erap hater si Leonard de Vera dati? What made him change his attitude on Erap?