EDITORIAL - A question that must be settled

Even before the dust has settled in the new administration, people who have brought this nation nothing but grief are reportedly moving again to unseat President Arroyo. At least two of these characters should have been run over by a tank during the first EDSA revolt, but at the time, the people were still unaware of how they would eventually sneer at people power. The coup plotters are said to be among those who kept Joseph Estrada company in his final hours at Malacañang, and who continue to keep him company in his life as a private citizen in Greenhills, San Juan.

The ousted president, for his part, has given the Senate notice that he is still the chief executive but is on leave because of his inability to exercise his powers – an indication that he intends to reclaim his post. He also formally asked the Senate to open an envelope, whose suppression by his allies precipitated his fall. Opposition leaders say Estrada merely wants a good bargaining chip in pushing for immunity from suit. He also hopes to keep all his mansions and assets and wants high praise from his successor. Given his track record in the past two and a half years, however, his notice to the Senate could be exactly what it is – the opening salvo in an attempt to grab back power.

These events are unfolding because of the unusual circumstances under which President Arroyo assumed power. The circumstances behind Corazon Aquino’s rise to power in 1986 were in fact more unusual, with the chief justice at the time swearing in Ferdinand Marcos as duly re-elected president and a mere Supreme Court associate justice swearing in Mrs. Aquino in parallel ceremonies outside Malacañang. Mrs. Arroyo, who garnered more votes than Estrada in the 1998 elections, was sworn in as President by the Chief Justice himself, with the backing of the entire Supreme Court. But you can’t blame lawyers and Estrada supporters if they seek a clarification of this unprecedented move.

Petitions were filed before the High Tribunal yesterday, questioning the events last Saturday. This legal challenge is a welcome opportunity to remove all doubts regarding the legitimacy of this administration. Before the people behind previous coups, behind suppression of evidence in the impeachment trial, behind Oplan Dagdag-Bawas implement their evil designs, the Supreme Court must settle this question.