MANILA, 12 September 2005 — Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo grabbed a rare opportunity to announce good news yesterday after months of political turmoil by going on TV to congratulate three Filipino boxers for their stunning victories in the United States.
Manny Pacquiao, a 28-year-old southpaw from the southern Philippines, stopped Hector Velazquez of Tijuana, Mexico, by technical knockout in the sixth round of a scheduled 12-round super featherweight bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Filipino-American Brian Viloria, raised in Hawaii by Ilocano parents from the northern Philippines, knocked out defending champion Eric Ortiz of Mexico in the first round to win the WBC light flyweight championship.
Then 19-year-old Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista from Bohol in the central Philippines knocked out Colombian Felix Flores Murillo in one minute and 12 seconds of the third round of their eight-round encounter.
The impressive string of victories was the first for the Filipino fighters in an international card in the United States, and Arroyo promptly congratulated the three boxers, calling them superb examples of Filipino youth.
It was “a triple victory for us,” said Arroyo in Manila. “The nation rejoiced at Manny Pacquiao’s victory,” she said in a statement in Filipino. “God heard my prayers that he win … His fight is the fight of all Filipinos.”
The triple knockouts scored by Pacquiao, Viloria and Bautista provided Filipinos with a welcome respite from the months-long political crisis back home.
Arroyo said she personally called Pacquiao, the pride of General Santos City who had helped campaign for her last year, to express her happiness. Arroyo has recently been hounded by allegations of vote-rigging and other crimes in her worst political crisis.
The House of Representatives, which is dominated by her allies, last week threw out three impeachment complaints against her but opponents have vowed to continue protests and calls for her resignation.
United Nations
Arroyo’s win in the House of Representatives and the victory of the three Filipino boxers appeared to have drowned the result of the latest Social Weather Stations opinion poll showing that 79 percent of Filipinos want her impeached.
The survey, released on Saturday, said 64 percent of those polled want her to resign and 51 percent wanted to kick her out via “people power” protests.
Yesterday, on the eve of her departure for the United States, she showed no sign of worries as she announced that she was assigning her vice president to be in charge of the affairs of the nation while she is abroad. Arroyo said she believed that Vice President Noli de Castro can handle the government while she’s away.
Arroyo leaves for New York today to attend the 60th session of the United Nations and preside over the Security Council meeting on Sept. 14. “I travel to the United Nations, bringing with me the public’s mandate,” Arroyo said in a statement yesterday.
Amid reports that Filipino-Americans will also hold protests while she was in the UN, Arroyo urged the public to support her and called on political leaders to stop politicking especially while she is away.
“Time has been wasted and the public is already impatient,” she said. “It is now time to start a new chapter and to move toward the future. Our country is ready for a take-off, unless hampered by too much politicking.” Arroyo has been fending off the worst political crisis in her presidency since the release in June of wiretapped conversations allegedly between her and an election official about rigging last year’s presidential vote.
While Congress dismissed the impeachment bid against Arroyo last week, her opponents have threatened to hold more protests to oust her. Analysts also warned that the president’s ability to govern has been compromised by the crisis as she clung to power.
Arroyo said she would discuss the global fight against terrorism, peace efforts in the country’s troubled southern region of Mindanao, and investments during her trip to the UN “I will be meeting with other head of states to discuss the global fight against terrorism,” she added in a statement on the eve of her trip. “We will also tackle with our friends from other countries the efforts to bring just and lasting peace to Mindanao.” Arroyo said she also plans to hold meetings with trade and business leaders during her trip to “attract new investments that would propel the economy and create more jobs for our countrymen.”
Military Assurance
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday vowed not to intervene in the political crisis and warned soldiers against breaking the chain of command.
“I am affirming the stand of the armed forces that we shall remain apolitical and we will not intervene in this present political crisis,” said military chief Gen. Generoso Senga.
“We are focusing our attention on our main function and duty, which is to ensure that we are protecting the people and doing our mission of our counter-insurgency and running after the terrorist,” he added.
Senga said some people or groups have publicly called on troops to withdraw support from Arroyo, and back the people’s demonstrations in the streets to oust the president.
“This is against the law, this is against rules and regulations of the armed forces and we shall deal with any member of the armed forces who will break this law,” he said.
Arroyo’s trip comes amid threats by her opponents to launch more street protests after the House of Representatives dismissed a bid to impeach her over allegations she cheated in the May 2004 presidential elections. (Input from AP & Inquirer News Service)
