EDITORIAL - Resolve this quickly

Close to the deadline, opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. and his running mate Loren Legarda filed separate election protests yesterday, challenging the victory of President Arroyo and Vice President Noli de Castro. Since the proclamation of the President and her running mate, some people have said it’s all over but the bellyaching by losers. But the protests, filed with the Supreme Court, will still bring uncertainty especially on Monday when the President deli-vers her State of the Nation Address – her first under a fresh mandate.

The President is still basking in the local glow of saving the life of truck driver Angelo de la Cruz. Yet even now the noisy leftist groups that briefly cheered her on when she pulled out the tiny Philippine humanitarian team from Iraq are mobilizing to create trouble when she delivers her SONA. Many of the masses who are hailing her can quickly remember who they voted for and, in this revived battle, be true to their choice – who else but Da King of Philippine mo-vies, Fernando Poe Jr.

Although expected, the filing of the protests could lead to instability that the nation can’t afford. Campaign 2004 had been bruising, and the vote count even more so. When the official results of the presidential race were finally announced, more than a month after the elections, the margin of victory was too narrow for comfort in a country where divisions run deep. And now without a hostage drama in Iraq to keep them preoccupied, Filipinos will be fully focused on the opposition’s electoral challenge.

The best way to dispel the uncertainty is by resolving this opposition protest as quickly and credibly as possible. The administration should welcome the chance to disprove once and for all allegations of poll fraud. This case cannot be resolved the way protests filed with the congressional electoral tribunals have been settled, with final decisions being handed down just days before the term of the true winner ends. In this protest it’s not just the legitimacy of the administration that is at stake, but also the stability of the nation.