FVR, Enriquez, Abat

Last Friday, former AFP Chief of Staff Fortunato Abat and former Budget Secretary Salvador Enriquez held a press conference at the Café Roma in Manila Hotel. The two are the primemovers of the Christian Nationalist Union which calls for the ouster of Gloria Arroyo and the setting up of a new government to be run by a council.

In past interviews, Abat had been quoted as advocating the establishment of a junta.

Last Friday, Abat denied ever having advocated for a junta.

Enriquez , on the other hand, used a new term for the alternative they were offering:constitutional protective option.

The day before, Inquirer came out with a story on the U.S. Embassy report linking former President Ramos, former National Security Adviser Jose Almonte,Abat and Enriquez to a plot to oust Arroyo.

Abat denied working with Ramos saying that the last time they talked was in 2001 during Edsa II. Enriquez answer was more intriguing: “I do not know that there is such a plan.” So, could there be a plan he doesn’t know?

What was surprising was Abat’s criticism of protest actions against Arroyo. He said “when rallies are dispersed, they convey defeat. They are symbols of defeat. They strengthen GMA.”

Enriquez, made a revealing remark: “Had GMA fell earlier ( when there is no ready alternative yet) who would benefit?

Those remarks reveal the closeness of their position with FVR who has also shunned joining rallies and who said that he supports GMA because “there is no alternative.”

Abat and Enriquez said they had just come from Washington D.C. where they met officials (they decline to reveal the identities of people they met) who told them that House Speaker Jose de Venecia had also been there lobbying for support for his Cha-Cha.

Talking with Abat and Enriquez strengthens my suspicion that they are part of FVR’s network. They shake GMA to compel her to depend on FVR. But it seems they have met their match in GMA who is as wily and as unprincipled as their principal.

Last Oct. 24, 2005, I wrote in Malaya about FVR’s agenda:

I find the justification of former President Ramos of his support for Gloria Arroyo unprincipled.
In a speech before three major business groups last week, former President Ramos explained his support for Gloria Arroyo: “If I have been supportive of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, it is only secondary and incidental since there is no other better alternative right now.”
The problem with Ramos is that he wants to be the alternative.

Ramos’ problem is that Arroyo does not want to be out of power to protect herself for the crimes she has committed. And he is not acceptable to the opposition.
That is why Ramos is pushing for charter change. He has said it time and again that he is not interested to be prime minister under a parliamentary form of government but nobody believes him. People put more weight to his body language than his words.
Last July 7, the day before he came to Arroyo’s rescue while her decent allies were abandoning her, Ramos presented before a Rotary Club meeting a “graceful exit” for Arroyo. He proposed the establishment “as soon as possible” of a High Commission composed of seven respected leaders to examine constitutional, judicial, economic and social reforms.
Simultaneous to the High Commission, Congress should transform themselves into a Constituent Assembly to study major amendments to the Constitution.
In Ramos timetable, by Nov. 1 (which is next week), the Con Ass should be able to come up with major amendments particularly a shift to parliamentary system of government. By Dec. 1, the High Commission should be ready to submit its recommendations to the Con Ass. By Jan. 1, 2006, a new Constitution should be ready to be submitted to a plebiscite to be held 45 days after or not later than Feb. 14, 2006. By March 1, the new Constitution should be in place.
Elections would be scheduled on May 15 and there should be a new leader by June 30, 2006.
Arroyo was aware of this when she welcomed Ramos with open arms in Malacañang on July 8. In fact, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who is identified with Ramos, said that Arroyo was considering the proposal.
Aside from the fact that FVR’s timetable is already outdated, Malacañang is now singing a different tune. More than a week ago, Rep. Ronaldo Puno, president of Arroyo’s Kampi, questioned House Speaker Jose De Venecia’s eagerness to include in the agenda of the proposed Con Ass the abbreviation of Arroyo’s term. They succeeded in including in the proposed amendments that “the incumbent shall serve as prime minister and concurrently as President under the new Constitution until her term expires on June 30, 2010.”
Still, Puno is making intelligible noise about the Committee report 1065 recommending the convening of Congress into Con Ass being unclear about post-2010. Does he want assurance that Arroyo is not barred from remaining in power beyond 2010?
But one thing is clear: GMA has put one over FVR. That must have pricked his wily pride. That’s why he is again making slight jabs while saying that he is still supporting her.
I said FVR support of Arroyo is unprincipled because he wants us to forget the basic issue that Arroyo is an illegitimate occupant of Malacañang. She didn’t win the 2004 elections. Therefore, she has no right to be president even for a minute. Add to that are the many crimes that she has committed to cover up the illegitimacy of her presidency.
To give Arroyo a graceful exit is to tell the world that in the Philippines, crime pays.