The dance of death

In her SONA, GMA announced the start of a “great debate” on charter change and entirely skirted on the prevailing political crisis centered on her lack of moral, political and legal basis to govern and to lead in instituting reforms.

No one, except FVR and JDV, has bought the invitation to do this dance of death.

It is really a dance of death. It is an obvious ploy to prolong GMA’s kapit-tuko hold on power. It seeks to divert the issues of Hello Garci, jueteng and other controversies that have reduced to nunal size whatever right GMA has to remain as president. It is a dance of death insofar as GMA would only be inviting more protests for refusing to face the issues head on and specifically for ignoring the growing clamor for her to leave the presidency pronto.

On another note, the deathly and deadly chacha seems to be aiming to maim and kill the impeachment complaint against GMA — again showing clearly GMA’s lack of interest in her own plea that her critics bring the issues before Congress and not to the streets.

But the people know better. Survey after survey by the leading pollsters Pulse Asia, SWS and Ibon prove that GMA is fast losing adherents, with more and more Filipinos seeking an end to her disgraced presidency and wanting a fresh, new leadership.

The street protests, the so-called Parliament of the Streets, are developing in terms of quality and quantity. The last protests coinciding with GMA’s SONA mobilized between 60,000-80,000 from various political groups now united for the singular purpose of deposing Arroyo. These people and parties have publicly refused GMA’s invitation to do the chacha.

We need no chacha right now. If GMA truly wants reforms in the political and electoral arenas, she should realize that she’s the biggest stumbling block to attaining these reforms, that she cannot lead the people in this endeavor, and finally, that the people view her as defender and beneficiary of the rotten status quo.

The imperative remains: GMA has to go asap so real, honest-to-goodness reforms could be pursued.