If Erap won again!

This will be a slap in the face of the elites.

It would be impossible for Erap to cheat in the elections considering his lack of machinery and funds. Tsk tsk tsk. He could actually win it at this point.

That doesn't change my vote. I am still for Noynoy. But consider the possibility.

Erap wins and I imagine the elite circles contesting this victory... constitutionality or for whatever legal argument. Will the constitutionality issue override the sentiment of the people? Will constitutionality override elections? That is the question that ought to be answered by many now. And for chrissake, let's not allow the argument that only we the elites know better and that the people didn't know what they were doing when they vote for Erap. That is too arrogant upon us and God help us, there could be civil war on socio-economic lines.

Riot at the Supreme Court

Obviously. It's known to be an open secret that the mess at the Supreme Court is really just plain dirty politics between Corona and Carpio. (And yes, I refuse to call them justices. I will call them by their last names without due regard for the titles that have been bestowed upon them.) Unfortunately, with the problem framed this way, it looks like the far-reaching effects and damage this has done to our institutions, specifically on the democratic balance, is just considered collateral damage. This is how bad the state we are in right now. Personality politics override the institutional impact. Never mind what our children's children will have to face in the future, the important thing is there is victory in the game of politics now. This is depressing.

So Carpio and Carpio-Morales are out of the game. The Supreme Court has decided with finality that President GMA can appoint the next Chief Justice. GMA's term is until June 30. The JBC has completed all the preliminaries to the search process and is just about to submit the shortlist. Word is that the JBC will submit its short list next week. Nothing can stop GMA now.

I would have wanted the scenario to be a bit different. I don't effing care about the quarrel between Corona and Carpio. The eff I care about their personal ambitions! This is not about you guys...you sick sons of arrogant gods! Anyhow, it could have resulted in the same Corona appointment if the gameplan was just about that. But I guess the gameplan was to destroy EVERYTHING.

This is how I'd have wished things to be... so that there is minimal damage.

The situation was: Carpio and Carpio-Morales already backed out from the process. JBC was going through the search process in accordance with its rules and tradition. Nothing is out of bounds... yet. The Supreme Court hasn't ruled yet on the MRs... in fact, it appeared that the SC was delaying the process and passing the burden to the JBC. So what could have happened was:

1. The SC reverses itself.

2. The JBC continues with the search process and submits the short list to the next President. Anyhow, Carpio is no longer in the running. Corona is topping the list.

3. The next President will have to honor the JBC short list because the process is not defective. Carpio and Carpio-Morales took the risk by not honoring the process. And groups like ours should defend the process and the short list because it went through the regular process. There's no reason that the next President should not honor the process.

Arroyo has her hands clean. The Supreme Court redeems itself. The JBC just did its job. And the burden is passed on to the next President. Civil society organizations will have been tested on the neutrality of their advocacies and the consistency of their arguments. Corona gets appointed, just as GMA had planned. All goes well for the GMA camp.

But again, I'm dreaming. At this point, there is no desire for anyone to play it clean. Everyone just wants to get immediate gratification. I say, go find a room and masturbate.

Gibo's brand of politics

I will not vote for Gibo. I find it really disturbing to support somebody who has publicly announced his loyalty to GMA. There is that recognition that GMA is his maker ... because of the break that is given to him, young that he is.

But I grant Gibo that salute with the brand of politics he brings in today's politics. Gibo's loyalty is actually party loyalty. After all, he is Western-trained and there is that great deal of maturity to stick it out with the party no matter what. At the moment however, that maturity of his political game is misplaced. And for this, he's become a convenient scapegoat. He's become the perfect target for manipulation because his actions are predictable. He's the textbook product of "right politics." He'll stick it out with the party, no matter what.

And he's done a good job by it. Even if there is clear showing of his principal playing him, he can't/won't break off the script (the textbook play). That's just what they need to keep him in close observation. That way, he'll always be within the GMA play. Poor Gibo. He's rightness could just work wrongly especially in the blind following of a textbook way. Again, context is very important.

Or could I just be giving too much credit to the Western training? I'd hate to know that he's actually knowingly playing the GMA game. Sigh.

The Bright Light Even If Circumstances Sing a Different Tune

The situation right now spells a grim future for the Philippines. GMA's pawns are all spread out in strategic places. She's ready to make the big kill. All scenario-builders out there say it... but only in whispers. We know it like we are certain about black and white. And yet there is that feeling of helplessness. I know, I feel that way too. I've felt that way for quite a while now, since the promulgation of that stupid Supreme Court decision granting GMA the power to appoint the next Chief Justice despite the Constitutional appointments ban.

Anyhoo. After quite a long while of being in that dark corner of helplessness and hopelessness, I thought what else could go wrong for her. And it occurred to me, we are not in complete control of our lives. The biggest pain for her would be when she'd had everything working for her already and the taste of victory as almost at the tip of her tongue... when she's salivating and all for the taste of success. And kaboom! She's dead. After all, it could be just for any reason. A slip in the bathroom. Aneurysm. Choke while eating that fat steak.

In the meantime, while this doesn't happen yet, I'd rally in the streets and make known my stand on issues. I love this country.