Humpty Dumpty

by Calixto V. Chikiamco

A dagger in the heart of the presidency - that’s what I would describe the expose of Senator Lacson about the alleged exploits of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

Between the Oakwood rebellion and Ping’s exposé, the latter is a more serious challenge to the presidency of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

While the rebellion merely challenged President Arroyo’s political authority, Senator Lacson’s bombshell challenges her moral authority. Her political authority emanates from her moral authority. How could President Arroyo, for example, clean the Armed Forces of the Philippines of graft and corruption if there’s even bit of truth in Senator Lacson’s charges? On what moral plane can she now lecture the young rebel soldiers about adherence to the Constitution if she broke her oath of office?

Senator Lacson must still prove his charges, but the burden of proof is on the other side to show otherwise. Firstly, Senator Lacson’s evidence so far is reminiscent of the checks that were used to pin down former President Estrada. Senator Lacson has yet to trot out his Chavit Singson, a whistle-blower who was intimately familiar with the deals, but that may yet be forthcoming.

Secondly, given what people tend to believe about their politicians in the Philippines and given President Arroyo’s program of a “strong republic,” the burden of proof is for President Arroyo and her husband to show beyond reasonable doubt that Senator Lacson is lying through his teeth.

The First Family is being tried in the court of public opinion. A “let Ping file his charges in court” defense isn’t going to absolve President Arroyo or her husband of any culpability politically. Anything short of indisputable proof of the First Gentleman’s innocence is going to damage the office of the president, perhaps irreparably.

Indeed, what’s at stake here is not only the office of the presidency but also the entire range of organizations and institutions in society. The Catholic Church, the NGO community, and the leftists who rushed to judgment on former President Estrada will be called upon to exhibit the same moral outrage against corruption in high places in this administration. If they fail to do so, then the Erap camp can raise the class issue: he was deposed by rich people power and only because he was pro-poor.

The Lacson expose is ominous because it could set the stage for more coup attempts and “people power” revolts. The damage to our institutions could reach breaking point. The prestige and credibility of the Supreme Court, the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Catholic Church, the Senate and Congress have all suffered blows lately. The credibility and moral authority of the office of the presidency, already tenuous since the Estrada presidency, could be shattered completely if events triggered by the Lacson expose run their course.

Will Humpty Dumpty ever be put back together again?

In a way, President Arroyo courted the Lacson expose because she tacitly encouraged talk of her going back on her word not to run for president next year. Instead of admonishing the sycophants in her administration to stop talking about her political plans, she teased and tantalized. Instead of declaring unequivocally that she was giving her valedictory in last month’s State of the Nation address, she offered hints of changing her mind.

President Arroyo should have realized that the successes she enjoyed in the past six months was due to her wise decision in December last year to take herself out of the political fray in 2004. She enjoyed a measure of political honeymoon with the opposition. When talks grew stronger of her running, first, the Oakwood rebellion erupted. Now, this expose by Senator Lacson. She should not be dense enough not to notice that these are shots across the bow.

This isn’t to say that President Arroyo should retreat in the face of challenges from the opposition. But whether she likes it or not, she’s seen as part of the problem, not part of the solution. The fact is there’s a deep fracture in Philippine politics and she can never be the instrument for healing that fracture. She’s a creature of “original sin” - a president by virtue of people power, not electoral mandate.

This is why President Arroyo’s decision to sacrifice herself and declare in December last year that she wasn’t running was historic and monumental. It started the healing process. But she - or at least, her supporters - blew it. Perhaps the thought that there will be no more Diosdado Macapagal Blvds, no more NGO bonds, no more deals negotiated by the firm, no more directorships in UCPB made them goad her to take back her word.

The very least President Arroyo can do now is to push hard for the passage of the Party Development and Campaign Finance Reform Act. It’s one of the few bills she urged Congress to pass in her State of the Nation address. It’s designed to cure the very evil that Senator Lacson exposed in his privilege speech - misdirected campaign contributions. With the campaign finance reform act, parties and politicians will receive a direct subsidy from taxpapers and the state, rather than from political investors.

This bill will help, not cure, what ails Philippine society: damaged institutions and a deeply divided political establishment. The question is: can all the king’s horses and all the king’s men put Humpty Dumpty back together again?