wow, that was fast. gloria must be desperate for new allies to replace fvr & jdv.
problem is, i can’t see pro-erap forces going along with the deal and supporting the new glo-erap alliance. can’t see ninez cacho olivares and her tribune troops changing their anti-gma tune.
so what’s in it for gloria? erap swears there’s no trade-off, but i doubt it. i wouldn’t be surprised to see him, eventually, doing a honasan, as in, you know, biglang critical of the opposition and of senate investigations into zte and hello-garci, a la joker arroyo.
i think maybe gloria is thinking long-term, as in charter change pa rin, which would also explain the hand-outs, cash advances, to mayors, governors, and congressmen for a final cha-cha war, huling hirit kumbaga.
with erap on her side, helping convince the masses, maybe even making movies pushing federalism, gloria may think may panalo siya (if she can hold out that long, that is). hope she’s wrong. hope i’m wrong.
This is my season of discontent!
Gloria’s Parallel Universe
* On Hunger: “Kasi iyun naman ang question ng hunger, do you miss one meal during the last three months? Pati naman ako, I’ve missed one meal in the last three months,” Gloria Arroyo said in an interview after a roundtable discussion on education and social services.
* On Human Rights:”The Philippines is the most democratic country in the region. We have championed that human rights be included in our ASEAN charter. We have no tolerance for human rights violations of any kind.”
* On Extra-judicial Killings:”We deplore any and all killings of political activist and journalist. I have met personally with the journalism community and the same with the human rights activist, we share their outrage.”
* On the Philippine Justice System: “We live by the rule of law. We abide by what the courts of the land decide. We must be a government that honors contracts and agreements that go through the required processes despite media attacks. And we must be a government that abides by what the courts of the land decide on matters of dispute.”
* On Electoral Reforms:” We can disagree on political goals but never on the conduct of democratic elections. I ask Congress to fund poll watchdogs. And to enact a stronger law against election- related violence”.
* On the Economy:”We have reached a new level of maturity and stability with some of the strongest macroeconomic fundamentals in 20 years. And I’m glad to see the rate of poverty is down, the rate of poverty is down, general poverty as well as what we have seen, extreme poverty. “