The Philippines in 2004: A Gathering Storm

Summary

For some 85 million Filipinos much of 2004 was spent either gearing up for the country's third presidential election in the post-martial law period or dealing with the election's aftermath amidst charges and counter-charges of “massive election fraud and irregularities”, “widespread and systematic cheating”, “blatant votebuying”, etc., and a “rigged” and highly controversial congressional vote count for president and vice-president, reminiscent of the dagdag/bawas (“vote-padding/vote-shaving”) scandal in the 1992 general elections narrowly won by General Fidel V. Ramos over Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who subsequently filed a formal protest with the presidential electoral tribunal, but to no avail. Ironically, two dagdag/bawas victims of the 1992 general elections, Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel, Jr., (LDP), and former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Rodolfo G. Biazon (Lakas-KMP), both current members of the Philippine Senate, were among the principal players — although this time on opposite sides — in the highly controversial vote canvass. In spite of a determined and valiant effort waged by a handful of opposition lawmakers in both legislative chambers (in the House of Representatives, the effort was spearheaded by rising opposition star Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero [NPC-Sorsogon] while Pimentel led the opposition to the “underhanded tactics” of the numerically dominant pro-administration lawmakers under the leadership of Francis “Kiko” N. Pangilinan, majority floor leader (Pangilinan replaced Loren Legarda-Leviste who left the Senate to join the slate of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) as its vice-presidential candidate) and Senate president Franklin M. Drilon (LP). On 23 June 2004, Drilon and Jose De Venecia (Lakas), Speaker of the House of Representatives officially proclaimed Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo and her running-mate, Noli L. De Castro as the “duly elected president and vice-president”, of the Republic of the Philippines.

In spite of a formal election protest filed by Macapagal-Arroyo's principal rival, the late Fernando Poe, Jr., (or just plain “FPJ” to his legion of admirers and supporters) with the Presidential Electoral Tribunal and persistent rumours of an imminent EDSA-type uprising by millions of loyal Poe supporters including a number of high-profile retired flag-level officers and active-duty military personnel, Macapagal-Arroyo was inaugurated as the country's fourth post-martial law era chief executive on 30 June 2004.