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Arroyo did not attend the funeral. Instead, she made a brief appearance at the cathedral where Aquino’s body lay in state early Wednesday morning, to pay her respects to Aquino after arriving in the Philippines at 3:00 a.m. from the United States.
Political observers said Arroyo’s behavior reflected her political conflict with Aquino, an erstwhile supporter who later demanded Arroyo's resignation amid accusations of election fraud and massive corruption. The two women became adversaries in 2005 when Aquino – at the height of the “Hello Garci” election fraud scandal – joined the opposition and the Filipino majority in calling on Arroyo to step down.
The offer of a state funeral was an attempt by Arroyo and her trusted lieutenants not to be seen as isolated from the collective sentiment of the Filipino people, who view Aquino as an icon of democracy, analysts said.
Aquino became a victim of the vendetta politics of Arroyo when, in July, shortly before Aquino’s death, the security personnel that had been assigned to the former president were recalled. Critics of Arroyo and supporters of Aquino said this humiliation of Aquino was part of a policy aimed at getting back at those who had supported the anti-Arroyo movement.
The government denied the Aquino family’s accusations that it had pulled out the former president’s security aides, and ordered the reinstatement of the security detail. The denial was followed by an order to the chief of the armed forces to investigate the incident in an effort to repair the damage.
Jobert Pahilga, a human rights lawyer belonging to the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, approved of the Aquino family’s rebuff of the Manila government’s offer of a state funeral, saying that a government charged with corruption had no right to honor the most revered Philippine President in recent history.
He said that “only an honorable state and government” should have that right. He compared Aquino to India’s Mahatma Gandhi as an icon of democracy.
Another staunch critic, Fernando Hicap, chairperson of the fisherfolk alliance Pamalakaya, in a separate statement congratulated Aquino’s youngest daughter, television host Kris Aquino and the entire Aquino clan for rejecting the government’s offer.
According to Hicap, Arroyo was forced to cut short her trip to the United States not really to attend the wake for Aquino. The Pamalakaya leader theorized that Arroyo was perturbed or scared by the Filipino people’s massive support for the former president, which reminded her of the People Power I movement that caused the downfall of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, which brought Aquino to the presidency.
Hicap said when Aquino’s body was transferred from La Salle Greenhills in San Juan to Manila Cathedral in the capital, over 140,000 supporters showed up, and at any given hour over 7,000 people from different walks of life and different classes trooped to Aquino’s wake to pay their last respects.
Pamalakaya said the mammoth crowd frightened the occupants of Malacañang palace. If the crowd became agitated it could launch another popular uprising, similar to Edsa 1 and Edsa 2, that could kick Arroyo out of the palace.
If Arroyo wants to make peace with former President Aquino and the rest of the 90 million Filipinos, she should promise the late president that she will definitely step down in 2010. She should also promise to order her allies in the House of Representatives to junk the proposed Constituent Assembly and Charter Change, aimed at extending her power.
President Arroyo is aware that former President Aquino wanted her out of Malacañang palace because of unbridled corruption in the government and her unbreakable obsession to remain in power beyond 2010.
If Arroyo wants to give Aquino a fitting tribute, she should do it now. She should quit issuing guessing-game statements about her plans in 2010 to the Filipino public.
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(Gerry Albert Corpuz is a correspondent of Bulatlat.com, an alternative Philippine online news site. He is also head of the information department of Pamalakaya, a national federation of small fisherfolk organizations in the Philippines. His website is www.pampil.wordpress.com, and he can be contacted at themanager98@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Gerry Albert Corpuz.)
