Eagle Eyes on Arroyo’s Return to Power

 

 

IN A running commentary of the SONA event, a news anchor let slip her view of the change of leadership in the House of Representatives, saying it was a vindication of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as cameras dutifully focused on the subject. On the same night in social media, netizens took sides: the dismay expressed by those who recalled the scandals which rocked the Arroyo presidency, and the denial of mostly Duterte partisans who promptly came to her defense, saying none of the charges filed were credible.

It is said that the news is the first draft of history, which is why it is important for the media not just to recall the facts but to provide context as well. The failure to do so allows memory of even recent history to fade too quickly; giving way to those who revise the record to fulfill a political agenda.

CMFR cheers the Philippine Daily Inquirer, GMA-7’s 24 Oras and  TV5’s Aksyon for their thorough review of the string of scandals that trailed Arroyo’s presidency. Reports on July 24 and 26  provided context and perspective to Arroyo’s recent election as House Speaker.

TV’s Take

24 Oras on July 24 noted Arroyo’s feat in becoming the first woman Speaker of the House and the first former head of state to hold the title. The report then recalls Arroyo’s track record in government, beginning with her work as the assistant secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry in the late 80’s to her rise in government as vice president in 1998 and then as president after then President Joseph Estrada was ousted in 2001. The report followed with a rundown of controversies in which Arroyo was involved with, chief of which was the “Hello, Garci” scandal (“Speaker Arroyo, naharap sa iba’t ibang kontrobersya noong pangulo pa”).

On July 26, Aksyon’s satirical segment Word of the Lourd (WOTL) hosted by Lourd De Veyra, called to mind some highlights of Arroyo’s nine-year term, featuring footage of two challenges mounted by a group of military officers against the government —the Oakwood mutiny in 2003 and the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007.

De Veyra further recounted how Arroyo went back on promise in 2002 not to run for re-election and the evidence of fraud with which she “stole the presidency” in 2004.

 

 

 

WOTL also featured clips from the recording of the infamous “Hello Garci” tapes and the equally controversial “I am sorry” apology that was aired on national broadcast (“#WordOfTheLourd | Gloria: Maalaala Mo Kaya?”).

 

 

 

A quick run-down noted her involvement in other cases of corruption such as the fertilizer fund scam and the NBN-ZTE deal.

De Veyra ended the segment with a clip of President Rodrigo Duterte teasing former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez about Arroyo not wanting the speaker’s position.

On Print

The print medium traced the scandals on a timeline.  Also on July 26, the Inquirer added to the list with cases not featured in Aksyon’s WOTL: the Jose Pidal accounts in 2003, the North and South Rail projects in 2003 and 2007, the Venable LLP deal in 2005, jueteng protection money in 2005, and the World Bank loan and cash handouts for congressmen, both in 2007 (“What went before: Arroyo survives multimillion-peso scandals”).

 

Inquirer also looked into the tampering of Maguindanao elections in 2007, which involved Arroyo and her political ally, then Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. (now deceased)  and former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bendol, causing the three to be charged with electoral sabotage in November 2011.

The report noted that while the electoral sabotage case is still pending, Arroyo has been acquitted of her plunder charges from 2012 for misusing state lottery funds worth millions of dollars; that the Ombudsman has also dismissed the criminal complaint against her for “insufficiency of evidence” in the alleged use of the PHP900-million Malampaya fund. In 2013, the National Bureau of Investigation found that Arroyo’s EO 848 had paved the way for the funding of what turned out to be ghost projects by non-government organizations. These dismissals and the acquittal all happened during the Duterte administration.

Arroyo’s election to the fourth highest government position in this country despite this history of notoriety is a testament to her strong influence on this administration. Her return to power suggests that politicians believe Filipinos forget their transgressions quite easily, assuring even those tarred with corruption can be elected again and again.

Dubbed as “historical amnesia,” the country’s collective ignorance of its past paves the way for “historical revisionism.” The media today must decide to play a role in setting the record straight to counter the peril of forgetfulness” (See: “Eyes Wide Open While Some Media Turn a Blind Eye to Marcos History”).