Gloria Part III

Noynoy Aquino gave a scathing review of Gloria Arroyo’s presidency when, in accepting the challenge to seek the top Malacañang post for the Liberal Party, he claimed to expect nothing much to be left by GMA so much so that anybody who emerges victorious in the coming May 2010 polls would face the tough task of rebuilding the nation almost from scratch.

In fact, Noynoy said being successor to Gloria would be a tougher task than Cory had, as a successor to Marcos, as she would leave the country in shambles in only nine years since she took power via Edsa II than Marcos did in more than 20 years since he beat Gloria’s father, Diosdado, in 1965.

Before Noynoy, former President Erap Estrada had given the same prognosis and after Erap, Chiz Escudero shared the same view with the other opposition presidential contenders.

They vowed to take the challenge of the great task that lies ahead if only to pursue the change a great majority of the Filipinos are seeking, calling and wanting, if we are to believe their campaign lines, which until battle time, are pure rhetoric.

Half-a-year is a long wait for a people wanting true change, and while waiting, we should not peel our eyes from Gloria Arroyo and have our thoughts deflected by the entertainment the many presidentiables are giving us.

Arroyo critics are on guard in anticipation of forging midnight deals for her friends, allies and members of her clique.

Already in a panic mode, it is not impossible for Gloria to strike sweetheart deals even with the devil if it would help save her ass when decision times comes.

With six months left in her term, Gloria was said to have hung a Wanted: Lawyer sign at the gates of Malacañang in anticipation of a deluge of criminal cases that would be thrown her way once she steps out of office.

But the top lawyers she has moist eyes on are not biting, even with all the money she can promise. And so she would take a different approach in seeking a congressional seat for her province of Pampanga in hopes her allies now would be her allies still when she seeks the speakership of the Lower House, and hopefully introduce amendments to the Constitution that would make her queen again.

That would be a long shot, as long as the shot Gibo Teodoro wants to make if only to protect his benefactor, who was said to have promised everything to make his campaign roll, even if it means drying up the country’s coffers further.

The House speakership would not give Arroyo immunity from suits, it can only give her a leverage at the most, if she prays none of the genuine opposition groups would emerge winner in the next polls.

Her frequent visits to Pampanga may help her bid, also. But academician Randy David would be a worthy challenger as he vowed to explain to their fellow Pampangos who Gloria Arroyo is.

Gloria’s next Pampanga tryst would also validate people’s suspicion something was in the works while Gloria made frequent returns to Pampanga, whose people now feel so blessed they have found an angel in her, while victims of “Ondoy,” “Pepeng” and “Santi” are still waiting for a miracle to come from elsewhere.

And while her top tax man had quit while admitting government could not meet its budget, there she was spending for all those travels — both overseas and in Pampanga — while she remains insensitive to the plight of many other sectors.

Many others have claimed Gloria could not be sensitive enough to feel her people’s plight, except for those in the radar of her interests, and she had proven this when she spent millions of pesos for expensive dinners and partying while an icon of democracy was being mourned at home.

And yet there beckons a GMA Part III to continue what she had started since Edsa II and the fraudulent 2004 elections.