Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has at last shown her true colors. Gone off the authoritarian deep end, one might say.The government deployed troops to the compounds of ABS-CBN and GMA-7, the country’s largest television networks. The government’s claim was that the soldiers were protecting these stations from a potential takeover by destabilizers.
Police have also declared that they would not hesitate to takeover media entities found “aiding” the administration’s enemies. The police also said they would soon release “standards” or guidelines that journalists must follow and that investigators and prosecutors were monitoring the news.
By the government’s definition, providing aid to Mrs. Arroyo’s enemies includes interviewing opposition parties. In simple terms, the administration wants media to present only the side of the embattled government, using force and coercion to bend journalists to its wishes.
She could have been a good president. She had an excellent background in economics, a good head on her shoulders, and the goodwill of the Philippine establishment.
Too bad she had to surround herself with thieves, murderers, thugs, and opportunistic sycophants. So much so that she turned into just another power-hungry, shameless politician out to plunder the country's treasury. Then again, maybe she has been that way for a long time, seeing as how her husband is a corrupt sonofabitch himself.
Ugh. Bitch needs to go. And to think... once upon a time she was a friend of my mom's and my aunt's. So we were excited when she came into power. We thought that, finally, the Philippines would have a really good leader.
Now we come to find out that she's just another Ferdinand Marcos wannabe... consolidating power, muzzling the press in the name of national stability, and doing everything she can to hold on to the office that she has betrayed and lost the right to keep. The only difference is that Marcos had an imposing presence, while Gloria looks like a well-washed, well-scrubbed washerwoman with a fake smile.
Bitch needs to go.