“Hello, Garci!”
By now, you should have heard about it, too. Unless you were trapped in a desolate island off the shark-infested waters of the Mariana Islands, you should’ve heard the most famous phrase in this side of Asia. Whether these are the various conversations in bars and coffee houses, headlines in the newspapers and the evening news, or even the latest cellphone ring tone with American rapper 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” playing in the background, the apparent nasal tone of a female voice clearly stands out: “Hello, Garci!”
For days, media has devoted as much coverage as it could to showcase the contents of wire tapped tapes containing the alleged conversations between Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano (Garci) with various personalities, among them, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA). In one interesting exchange, we hear a woman (supposedly GMA) inquiring an election official (supposedly Garci) about how she was currently faring in the vote tabulation. To some, it may be an innocuous inquiry, although common sense would dictate that it would be highly unethical for a person who seeks public office to ask for such to an elections commissioner. On the other hand, conspiracy theorists assert that it’s a blatant proof that GMA did rig the May 2004 elections to her favor.
As both administration and opposition leaders and lawmakers debate savagely over the integrity and authenticity of the tapes, the tight-lipped silence of GMA over the issue ironically casts a deafening decibel in the collective consciousness of the nation. Groups critical of GMA’s governance, from the opposition to activist groups, are quick to note that silence is tantamount to admission of guilt. They maintain that if GMA indeed has a clean conscience, it won’t be hard to admit that she is not the female voice in the tapes nor did she ever conspire to cheat in the elections.
The controversy surrounding the wire tapped tapes couldn’t have commenced in a more appropriate time. Before this entire hullabaloo began, GMA’s net approval rating in an all-time low over escalating inflation and the passage of the much criticized E-VAT law. Negative public perception of her governance was further dragged on the ground with allegations that members of her family, notably her husband Mike, congressman son Mikey, and brother-in-law Iggy, were receiving millions worth of kickbacks from the illegal numbers game jueteng. Thus, the wire tapped tapes are merely the TNT candles lighted on a cake baked on malice and treachery. The candles are bound to blow up anytime, but sadly, much of the force from that fatal blow will not be absorbed by either GMA or the powerful people who hate her, but by the millions of the common Pinoy who languish just to make ends meet.
The questionable timing of the controversial tapes, coupled with the equally questionable motives of the people who orchestrated such ploy, only gives weight to the argument that some sectors highly critical of GMA’s leadership are out to destabilize her government. If these tapes were made public days after GMA was proclaimed as president, the scale of credibility would’ve tilted to the tape hounds’ side. Instead, what we now see splashed over the news are a bunch of brats wailing for milk spilt more than a full year ago.
In retrospect, people who urge GMA to shed light on the tape scam should realize that whatever she says about the issue could be interpreted differently depending if the interpreter is a sympathizer or foe. In the process, GMA’s comments could be manipulated to sow more unrest. Perhaps the Philippines provides a clear test case why democracy does not always work. After electing the adulterous movie actor Erap Estrada in 1998 and subsequently ousting him in a peaceful revolt three years later on corruption and inefficiency charges, Filipinos were on the brink of electing another movie superstar, the now deceased Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ), to the highest post in 2004. It’s saddening that most of our kababayans think of the president as their proverbial Robin Hood who will save them from the rungs of poverty with just a flick of the finger.
Through it all, I’m still glad that GMA won the elections. Way back in May 2004 when most of my friends voted for either Raul Roco or Brother Eddie Villanueva, I was ridiculed as to why I voted for GMA. No, it’s not because I’m from Pampanga, nor is it because I wanted to prevent an impending FPJ presidency at all costs. It’s because I believed that GMA has the capacity to lead soundly and that she was in the best position to institute the much-needed reforms that she has already started when she inherited Estrada’s government. People should realize that reforms happen in a painstakingly slow pace. And to have a greater chance to achieve this, the status quo should be maintained.
June 20th, 2005 at 10:15 pm
I’m quite touched with the way you held out such deep rooted and unwavering convictions for a lady president you deem worthy of being put on a pedestal, I don’t exactly know why, probably because she’s so tiny, only you can tell, but such faith of epic proportions before my very eyes here that only the young, romantic idealists in EDSA can match, I can only applaud you with sincere reverence.
I’m quite surprised, actually, that a clinical cynic would demonstrate such virtue in the face of glaring, outright, blatant goodwill shown by the the administration to the people of the republic. I hereby grant you to enlighten our countrymen by means of your very well-meaning and exalted editorials.