I love U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech especially the part where he said, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
Gloria Arroyo’s fake presidency fits the description to a T.
She grabbed power from an elected president in January 2001, something that she herself is ashamed about it that she wants the people to forget about it. Just like that.
She tried to legitimize her illegitimate presidency in the 2004 election spending people’s money to righg the electoral process. No dice, the people still rejected her.
With the help of the military and police , notably former AFP Chief Hermogenes Esperon, whom she has elevated the other day as her right hand man as head of the Presidential Management Staff, she tampered with the results of the 2004 elections. That’s all recorded in the “Hello Garci” tapes which surfaced a year after she was proclaimed by a subservient Congress.
Harnessing government machinery and resources, she prevented the people from knowing the truth about the thwarting of the will of the people using the armed forces, who are mandated by the Constitution as protector of the people. That’s why the people never saw the light of the Mayuga report that investigated the degradation of the military into election cheating operators which even Ferdinand Marcos never attempted to do.
To pay off those who participated the grand electoral fraud, she allowed then Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos to get his reward from the NBN/ZTE deal that would have deprived the Filipinos some P1.3 trillion of their tax money.
She issued Executive Order 464 to prevent government officials from testifying in congressional investigations that seek to find out the truth about the violations of the law to keep herself in power.
It’s not surprising that Arroyo remains deaf to the message. Her spokesperson even had the gall to claim that the new US Presiodent’s ” words deeply resonate with the President’s (Arroyo) dream for the nation and the world.
As President Obama said, “You are in the wrong side of history.”
I also like the what he said about how he will deal with the menace of international terrorism which has its roots of injustice in the Middle East.
He said, “For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.”
On the first day of his presidency, he put those words into action. Military prosecutors in the trial in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba of defendants accused of organizing the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States were instructed to seek a 120 day suspension of the legal proceedings.
A news report said, “The legal maneuver appears designed to provide the Obama administration time to refashion the prosecution system and potentially treat detainees as criminal defendants in federal court or have them face war-crimes charges in military courts-martial. It is also possible that the administration could re-form and relocate the military commissions before resuming trials.”
In the early hours of last Wednesday, I said a prayer that he be guided and protected to make good this promise:” And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.”
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