Prelate sees unrest with specter of post-2010 Arroyo

MANILA, Philippines - The specter of political unrest and political debacle looms as President Arroyo shows signs of planning to stay in power beyond 2010, a senior Catholic bishop said. Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz said Malacañang has been fast exhausting the patience of the people while wasting the funds of the nation. "Malacañang has been fast exhausting the patience of the people and effectively wasting the funds of the nation, to the extent that it has been repeatedly pronounced 'morally bankrupt.' There is valid reason to expect even worst socio-political unrest and economic debacle to come, especially with the incumbent president still holding the reigns till 2010, or even after," Cruz said in his web log. Cruz, a staunch critic of Malacañang, said Arroyo had already earned the double whammy title of the "Most Corrupt" and the "Least Approved" president since 1986. Worse, he said she also earned the distinction of becoming "The Biggest Gambling Lord in the Country." "Despite sound opposition of concerned citizens, this government has legalized gambling as a flagship project in the country. In fact, it has seen to it that corporate gambling, even in such a strict business zone with flourishing private enterprises like the U.N. Avenue in Manila, slowly but surely invades all yielding provinces across the archipelago. This is the pitiful state of affairs in a land where the government is a gambling operator itself," he said. He also cited the establishment of some 195 online gambling boots. "With the proliferation of stations being eyed for additional gambling facilities, online gamblers are certainly mushrooming too," he said. Adding insult to injury is the survival of illegal gambling syndicates that have become even more aggressive, more cold-blooded and all the more lucrative during the tenure of the incumbent administration, he said. "The gambling situation in the country was already bad seven years ago but the grueling years under her saw it at its worst," he said. He noted these gambling operators now operate in public places under broad daylight. "Just as the 2010 national elections come nearer, so does illegal gambling become more daring," he said. "Never mind if more Filipinos are getting hungrier as less children go to school. Never mind if the cost of basic commodities goes higher compared with the purchasing power of peso becomes lower. Never mind if the people find it hard to purchase rice, to find employment, to hope and expect a better future. Never mind all these! True enough, the government never minds these for they have all the gambling they want -- on land and in space!" he said. - GMANews.TV