Philippines Corruption Scandal

Philippines has been faced with yet another corruption scandal! As I was looking through the papers from November 1, I found out that the Senate was preparing an arrest warrant for Jocelyn Bolante. This was to compel him to testify in an investigation into allegations that 728 million pesos in farm subsidies were diverted to President Gloria Arroyo's 2004 election campaign as he was alleged to have handled the payments. This will bring allegations of President Gloria Arroyo's rigged 2004 elections into the spotlight yet again, which have bedevilled her presidency.

Not only that, a member of a delegation of police generals attending an Interpol conference in St Petersburg was caught by Russian Customes with 105,000yen in undeclared cash meant to buy intelligence equipment. This is contradicting to the police force trying to improve its public image and uproot corruption.

Corruption seems to be rifle in Philippines and uprooting will pose a big challenge to the government. Here are some photos I found that shows the resentment of the Filipinos towards President Gloria Arroyo:

People Power Revolution

One significant event that happened in Philippines was the People Power Revolution which occured during the period when Ferdinand Marcos was in power. This period was also known as EDSA Revolution/Philippine Revolution of 1986/Yellow Revolution. Ferdinand Marcos set up a regime in the Philippines that would give him ultimate power over the military and the national treasury. Following the declaration of martial law on 21 Sept 1972, Marcos began money embezzlement and gave out orders to kill any political competition that was against him. Not long after, Philippines economy crumbled and lost its competitive edge in Southeast Asia. Several groups of people within the government conspired to overthrow Marcos. They were led by opposition senator Ninoy Aquino, who was later sent to exile and warned not to return to Philippines. Ignoring warnings from pro-Marcos groups not to return, Ninoy Aquino returned three years later but was assassinated on his way back. This led to many Filipinos to lose faith in the Marcos regime and caused the economic problems in Philippines to worsen.

In the 1986 elections, Ninoy Aquino's wife Corazon Aquino ran for residency with Marcos. However, there were two different sets of election results, one showing Marcos winning 53% of the votes and another with Corazon Aquino winning 52%. Both parties took their oath of office in two different places with Aquino gaining greater supporter from the masses. Events of the People Power Revolution started when two key leaders of the military - Fidel Ramos and Juan Poonce Enrile - withdrew their support for Marcos and supported Aquino instead. At that time, Radio Veritas was used as an important form of communication between the military and the masses as it was the only non government controlled radio station. Everywhere, people were listening to Radio Veritas and several sang Bayan Ko (My Homeland), which has since become the anthem of protest movements in the Philippines.

Philippines Political Structure

Philippines Political Structure

While preparing for my trip to the Philippines two weeks ago, I decided to do some research on the current political structure of the Philippines and find out more about some significant political events. The current political structure is headed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and assisted by Vice President Noil De Castro, President Gloria Arroyo assumed power on 20 January 2001 when she replaced former president Joseph Estrada in the middle of his term. She won re-election in her own right in May 2004 for a six year term until 2010.

Joseph Estrada started out as an actor in Philippines, and his popularity amongst the locals encouraged him to enter politics. Initially, he cultivated himself as 'Robin Hood', committing to redistributing wealth and power. As time passed, rumours about his involvement in corruption and illegal businesses started surfacing and he admitted to having a number of children by different mistresses even though he was married. His support from the Filipinos faltered and in January 2001, they turned against him and forced him out of politics. He faced trial on counts of corruption and plunder. He was found guilty and given a life sentence in 2007. Six weeks later, his predecessor President Gloria Arroyo pardoned him and his is now a free man. It was speculated that the two parties made a secret deal, with Joseph Estrada never running for office again.

Garcias Family

As I was trying to understand the political climate from my Filipino friend Florence over the weekend, I found out that the Garcias Family is one of the many powerful families in Philippines. According to Florence, they have been gaining considerable political ground in Cebu province over the last two decades, with 3 of its members running for public office in the 2007 election, establishing themselves as the province's premier political family.

Apparently, members of the Garcia Family were contesting for three seats namely Cebu Governor, Congressman in Cebu's 2nd district and Congressman in Cebu's 3rd district in the 2007 elections.

From my understanding, both Gwen and Pablo John Garcia were following the footsteps of their father Pablo Pabling. While Gwen Garcia was seeking re-election as Cebu governor, her brother was contesting for the seat held by his father from 1987 to 1995. Pablo Pabling bowed out of politics in 2004 after serving as Governor for 3 terms. He decided to re-enter the political scene and run for Congressman in Cebu's 2nd district. As expected, all three members of the Garcia family won the seats which they were contesting for. Since the 2007 elections, there has been a shift in Cebu's political landscape. The Garcias are slowly assuming the role of the Osmenas family: deciding the political fate of Cebu, which rivals Manila in economic importance.

It was reported that current Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo feels at ease with the Cebu province and its political climate under the leadership of the Garcias and said that "it is a strong province... a model for a strong republic". However, her support for the Garcias family was speculated to be connected to her controversial win in the 2004 elections. How I wish was in Philippines during the 2007 election to witness the triumphant win of the Garcias family!