EDITORIAL - Opportunists

With just 10 months to go before the general elections, and five months before presidential aspirants file their certificates of candidacy, you’d think Filipinos would be patient enough to await changes in the political firmament. Instead we have been treated to a mutiny, then to the usual antics of the clowns in Congress, plus a week of hysterical text messages and rumors about supposed coup plots. Yesterday the destabilizers who must surely be responsible for the text brigades were still feverishly at work, calling for a noise barrage against the administration.

Since we are so eager to shoot ourselves in the foot, the markets have obliged. For a week the peso plumbed new depths, and the stock market, lackadaisical even during pre-mutiny days, fared no better. Until yesterday the destabilizers were eager to add to the confusion, spreading alarming messages.

Don’t people have better things to do? Since the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the Philippines has been quickly regaining its dubious honor of being the region’s basket case. While our neighbors are busy trying to recover ASAP from the fallout from SARS, terrorism and the Iraq war, we are distracted by armed and dangerous brats in the Armed Forces and opportunists in the opposition. What do they want? To unseat a president, less than a year before general elections.

There must be responsible opposition members who have nothing to do with destabilization efforts, and who can help restore normalcy in this benighted country. But if there are, they are still sitting back and enjoying this sordid show, waiting to see how bad it can get for President Arroyo. No one is lifting a finger, in the name of national interest, to calm frayed public nerves or discourage military adventurism. The single biggest concern of politicians, in these testing times, is, "How do I get on TV?"

It only reminds us once again that "responsible politician" is an oxymoron in the Philippines. Opportunists do not care if they are pulling down not just President Arroyo but the entire republic.