Will Arroyo step down after 2010?

Sabi ni Randy david, Arroyo will not step down after 2010, just like marcos refused to relinquish his power until he was forced out by edsa 1986.

Ito ang sinabi niya kay Marcos:

Doubtless, Marcos desired nothing less than to rule indefinitely. But even his most strident critics would concede that he had a clear vision for the country, although they staunchly opposed it. Apart from the corruption, which he centralized, the actions that Marcos took in the first few years of authoritarian rule showed that he had thought about the nation’s problems thoroughly. He filled his Cabinet with credible technocrats, issued decrees that reorganized the economy, and drew a long-term path for sustained economic growth.

In his long years as a professional politician, Marcos had gained an insight into the general predisposition of Filipinos—that they did not care enough about liberty to risk their lives defending it. For him, civil liberties and political rights had become so meaningless to most Filipinos because of their poverty that they would exchange them anytime for the promise of food and jobs. That many people went underground to fight his regime shows that he was wrong, but the fact that he lasted more than 13 years as a dictator suggests that he wasn’t entirely wrong. Had Marcos succeeded in turning the Philippine economy around and improving the economic situation of the average Filipino, it would have been impossible to overthrow him.

Ito naman ang sinabi niya kay Arroyo:

In any event, whichever method is adopted, so long as the public’s attention is drawn to Charter change rather than to regime change, Ms Arroyo is assured of staying in the presidency until 2010. By that time, she will have completed nine years in the presidency—not a mean feat for someone who has never been properly elected to the position. The question, however, is: Will she relinquish power in 2010 and fade gracefully into private life?

My guess is that she will not. Ms Arroyo, who has violated every norm of civilized politics during her presidency, will be hard-pressed to keep herself in power for as long as she can, if only to stay out of jail. I do not believe anyone can spit on the basic rights and freedoms of a nation, and wreck its cherished institutions, and expect to get away with it. Not Marcos, not Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

I disagree with Randy. It all depends of course if Arroyo is able to make the life of ordinary Filipinos much better and improve his economic situation by 2010. Kung nagawa niya yan, she may step down after 2010, because many people may be more inclined to "forgive" her and "move on". And she doesn't have to worry about going to jail because by that time, lahat na ng SC court justices ay mga appointees niya, and they'll protect her.

But if ordinary filipinos continue to leave the country in droves dahil sa hirap ng buhay dito sa pilipinas, where the only jobs available are call centers and the incomes of most filipinos are still very low, where the only business na kumikita ay ang pagbenta ng cellphone cards o pirated dvds, where poor filipinos are getting poorer, and the middle class is shrinking because marami sa kanila'y naging poor na, then she may continue to stay in power to continue her "unfinished work" of "building" and "reforming" our country.