Polibiz
By Nelson C. Robles

Why Madam Miriam needs our support

At this point of time, Ilonggos should rally behind the fiery Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the only leader in the country today who possesses the chutzpah to expose the plot to assassinate President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

It’s good that she blew the whistle on the treacherous attempt to the life of the President because it involves the national security. If the enemies of Ms. Arroyo failed to outmuscle her through impeachment, they are now thinking of implementing their Plan B until Madam Miriam uncovered it.

It’s but natural for former Pres. Cory Aquino and his lap puppy Senator Franklin Drilon to deny Madam Miriam’s charges. But the more they make noise and deny their purported role, the more that they lose their credibility and the more that people will believe the La Paz, Iloilo City-born female senator.

-o0o-

Mrs. Aquino has a lot to lose if Pres. Arroyo remains in power because she has burned her bridges with the President. If the Cojuangco family will blow away the slim chance to retain the 6,000-hectare Hacienda Luista, who else to blame but Mrs. Aquino who has been actively and mindlessly agitating for the ouster of the President.

We can’t blame members of the Cojuangco family if they lynch Mrs. Aquino in the event the Department of Agrarian Reform will formally turn-over the century old hacienda to the 5,000 farmers. This woman has been overwhelmed by her vindictiveness and ambition to make her son, Noynoy, the next vice president. And the price that she has to pay for her foolishness is equivalent to the entire fortune of the Cojuangco clan which will only go down the drain.

-o0o-

On the other hand, it cannot be denied that Senator Drilon has been madly in love with the Presidency; he has been dreaming to become President ever since he was Mrs. Aquino’s labor secretary. When he set up Mrs. Arroyo in the “I’m sorry” fiasco, he was already probably thinking that he would soon fulfill his dream of becoming vice president first and president later. Poor Noli De Castro, he didn’t know what was going on.  But in Iloilo city and province, Ilonggos already know who Drilon is.

He is not even popular among media practitioners here because he treats them like second rate citizens. He has also attitude problem and he carried this “secret” until he gained the trust and confidence of Mrs. Arroyo who is now the recipient of Drilon’s skullduggery.

-o0o-

NOTE: I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family of my former editor Ivan Suansing who succumbed to heart ailment in Cebu last Sept. 29. Ivan was introduced to me by Alex Vidal in 1996 when I applied at Sunstar Iloilo. This was when I came back from Hong Kong where we made a foreign-funded short film. Ivan thought I was only joking when I submitted my application to publisher Mark Villalon because Alex told him that I am a film assistant director who dabbles in column writing. He must have thought that by joining the Sunstar, it would be tantamount to “demotion” considering the glamour attached to people in showbiz. But when Alex explained to Ivan that I am basically a journalist first and a filmmaker second, the tall and brilliant editor-in-chief opened the gates for me and treated me as a member of that ragtag team that included lay-out artists Leo Solinap, photojournalist Pinoy Gonzales, the “small but terrible” Ruby Silubrico, Ednalyn Belonio, and now acting editor Kathy Villalon-Cinco. Ivan, good luck to your longest journey. We will be seeing each other in the next life.