Crumbling Gloria regime?

EDITORIAL

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10/23/2007

A strange thing happened Sunday.

A late news report had Malacañang saying that Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita left for the United States for an official trip to New York to meet with officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the cases of human rights violations and extra-judicial killings in the country. Accompanying Ermita is Human Rights chairman Purificacion Quisumbing. Both are claimed by the Palace to update United Nations officials on the Arroyo government’s efforts in dealing with the rights situation in the country.

“In light of Mr. (Philip) Alston’s impending submission of a UN report on the matter, the President decided a couple of weeks back to send Executive Secretary Ermita,” Gloria’s spokesman said.

But that UN report was already submitted by Alston to the UN. Besides, it is by and large, the same report he had much earlier submitted to a panel.

And what update can Ermita be expected to come up with, along with Quisumbing, since to date, there is continued resistance from Gloria and her military generals to disclose publicly any and all reports prepared by them?

Ermita is expected to be away for a week. In that time, so goes the report, Gloria Arroyo has appointed her Press Secretary-spokesman Ignacio Bunye as acting Executive Secretary.

Something is wrong with the picture being presented by Malacañang.

If anyone should be tapped to explain the Philippine government’s side on the extra-judicial killings and other human rights violations to the UN officials, it should be the Foreign Affairs secretary, Alberto Romulo, assisted by the unconfirmed Philippine ambassador to the UN, Hilario Davide Jr., along with Quisumbing, who is, incidentally, not expected to be an apologist for the abuses being committed by the Arroyo government. For her to update the UN, along with Ermita, on the “efforts” being made by the Arroyo regime would be anomalous, as she would be, in essence, an apologist for the Arroyo government.

Already, Quisumbing has indicated her partisan color when she laid the blame on missing Jonas Burgos’ mother Edita, for her alleged “uncooperative” conduct in the commission’s probe, which Edita found incredulous and preposterous.

But if Ermita’s mission is to update UN officials on the efforts of Gloria to prevent these killings and abuses, why should it take a week for this mission? It shouldn’t take that long for them if the intent is solely to update the UN officials.

Speculation is rife that either this is a prelude to Ermita resigning from his government post, which resignation has been the buzz for sometime, but was denied last week, or that Ermita has been tapped to talk to US government officials for assistance to secure for Gloria and her family safety in a third country, in the event that Gloria would have to leave Malacañang, owing to the serious crises that have befallen her and her tottering government.

In the time of Ferdinand Marcos when he was also hit by a crisis and in a situation where he was losing control over too many situations, he sent his officials to the US to explain the situation of the Marcos government abroad, obviously to get their support for his tottering government.

It looks like Gloria is doing the same, this time with Ermita as her point man, that is, if he is not yet into quitting his job.

Just as strange is Gloria appointing Bunye as the acting Executive Secretary. What this move translates to is that there appears to be no one else whom she trusts among her Cabinet members. The move can also indicate that Gloria can’t seem to convince anyone to join her malodorous government.

From the day then political adviser Gabriel Claudio resigned, there has been no other replacement for him, with her instead tapping Interior Secretary Ronnie Puno as acting political adviser.

It is the same with her other Cabinet members, most of whom were the undersecretaries in an acting capacity.

It is also to be noted that, except for some two or three appointees, there has not been a new face in various departments after the resignation of the so-called Hyatt 10 Cabinet and senior officials in the Arroyo government.

It certainly looks like Gloria’s regime is crumbling and fast.

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