merde
27th Feb '08 Wed, 07:11
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Tuesday said moves to oust President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the wake of the $329.48-million “ZTE scandal" will not succeed.
A statement on the MILF website (http://luwaran.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=617) said Arroyo will survive the present threat to her presidency and will stay in power until 2010.
"This is my view after assessing all the minus and plus factors against or for Arroyo ... I am not for or against Arroyo, but it is good to make concrete analysis of the situation as basis of planning," said Muhammad Ameen, chief of the MILF Secretariat.
Ameen cited several factors why the present oust-Arroyo movement would fail.
First, there is no credible leader to lead the nation this time, Ameen said, noting that most Muslims in Mindanao see Vice President Manuel "Noli" de Castro Jr. as an incompetent leader.
Muslims in Maguindanao don’t see him as a good leader even if his wife hails from the place, he said.
Second, the people are already tired of the so-called people power.
"They seemed to have rationalized already that one politician replaced by another politician is like changing one rotten egg with another rotten egg, and therefore, they are turned off to join another mass movement such as rallies or demonstrations," he said.
Third, most of rank-and-file members of the police and the military are still loyal to Arroyo because most of their top commanders are "compromised."
The fourth factor is the support of the United States, which the present oust-Arroyo movement obviously does not have.
A fifth is that leaders of the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines are divided over the call for Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster.
Finally, he said, "the brevity of her (Arroyo’s) remaining term in office is the best antidote to moves to unseat the President, which make people think that it would be better to wait for her normal exit timeline rather than embark on an ambitious but still unpredictable people power method."
Ameen said he was inclined to believe that the charges of corruption against Arroyo "are well founded."
A statement on the MILF website (http://luwaran.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=617) said Arroyo will survive the present threat to her presidency and will stay in power until 2010.
"This is my view after assessing all the minus and plus factors against or for Arroyo ... I am not for or against Arroyo, but it is good to make concrete analysis of the situation as basis of planning," said Muhammad Ameen, chief of the MILF Secretariat.
Ameen cited several factors why the present oust-Arroyo movement would fail.
First, there is no credible leader to lead the nation this time, Ameen said, noting that most Muslims in Mindanao see Vice President Manuel "Noli" de Castro Jr. as an incompetent leader.
Muslims in Maguindanao don’t see him as a good leader even if his wife hails from the place, he said.
Second, the people are already tired of the so-called people power.
"They seemed to have rationalized already that one politician replaced by another politician is like changing one rotten egg with another rotten egg, and therefore, they are turned off to join another mass movement such as rallies or demonstrations," he said.
Third, most of rank-and-file members of the police and the military are still loyal to Arroyo because most of their top commanders are "compromised."
The fourth factor is the support of the United States, which the present oust-Arroyo movement obviously does not have.
A fifth is that leaders of the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines are divided over the call for Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster.
Finally, he said, "the brevity of her (Arroyo’s) remaining term in office is the best antidote to moves to unseat the President, which make people think that it would be better to wait for her normal exit timeline rather than embark on an ambitious but still unpredictable people power method."
Ameen said he was inclined to believe that the charges of corruption against Arroyo "are well founded."