Registering to vote, eh? Best keep your trousers on, Fred. they’re more likely angered by that foolish woman running the country and showing their support for the constitution than readying to hunt commies.
But of course, their guns could ultimately point in any direction.
HG
[quote]Political typhoon - SCMP (yesterday)
Alan Robles.
Asian diplomats are still catatonic over Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s shock postponement on Friday of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cebu. The meeting had been due to start on Sunday. Although the government blamed an incoming typhoon, the storm wasn’t meteorological: it was political. It all blew up last week, when Mrs Arroyo’s allies in congress ham-fistedly tried to change the constitution.
Angered, various groups called for immediate, massive street protests - the kind that have already overthrown two governments here. The administration then realised that most of its security forces were deployed far away in Cebu, preparing to guard the summit. The anxiety was so palpable, I could almost hear the “oops” and “uh-oh” from the presidential palace halfway across Manila.
The president’s subsequent, unprecedented decision to postpone the summit until January - made without consulting any Asean members - was so abrupt that bewildered officials in Cebu were left mumbling excuses. It led to an undignified stampede as delegations scrambled to get away. Stranded foreign media tried spinning a terror threat, but one official scoffed, asking: “If there was a terror threat, why were the airlines continuing to fly in delegates?” All in all, it was not a shining moment for Philippine diplomacy.
With unheard-of bluntness, Japan’s trade minister, Akira Amari, doubted the typhoon excuse, noting that the storm missed Cebu. He believed the summit was as good as cancelled, and said the Philippines had lost credibility.
The real story was in Manila where, for the past two years, the administration has been pushing a “charter change” to switch the country over to a parliamentary form of government. By the most astonishing coincidence, the change would indefinitely extend Mrs Arroyo’s term and increase her powers tremendously. It would also cancel elections next year, letting incumbent congressmen stay in office.
When the Supreme Court recently cut off the movement’s legal legs, Mrs Arroyo’s allies decided to go for broke. Last week, they used a majority in the House of Representatives to crudely break rules and invent new ones. They probably weren’t expecting the backlash: civil society declared mass protests and prayer rallies. The Catholic Church, the huge charismatic group El Shaddai and the influential Iglesia ni Kristo church all declared their opposition. One bishop called on soldiers to defend the existing constitution.
Stunned, the Arroyo loyalists blustered but eventually blinked, announcing that charter change has been put on hold. This week, the Philippines is internationally humiliated, its citizens angry and in turmoil. If there’s a secret effort called the “Let’s Enrage As Many People As We Can Programme”, it’s been wildly successful.[/quote]
And from Stratfor:
[quote]Philippines: President Cancels Assembly
December 14, 2006 22 38 GMT
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cancelled a constitutional assembly to debate proposed changes to the Philippine Constitution on Dec. 14 due to growing opposition and impending protest marches in the capital of Manila. Despite the cancellation, a massive prayer rally planned by religious and opposition groups will go on as scheduled. The rally will be held Dec. 17 at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, and organizers say they are expecting some 500,000 protesters. [/quote]