When President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced on Monday that she is running for Congress in May, she settled the issue of whether she is stepping down from the presidency next year. But she also made clear that she is not retiring from politics. “Public service” (her code word for politics) is in her genes, she said.

The announcement triggered a storm of criticism from her political foes who fear that her going to Congress spells trouble for the country. They claim that she would use her position as representative of the second district of Pampanga as a platform to destabilize the next administration, or use it to seek immunity from criminal prosecution for possible corruption charges allegedly committed during her presidency.

The President made the announcement just seven days after the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao by an armed group linked to the Ampatuan family, a Mindanao warlord allied to her. The massacre was the biggest and most brutal election-related blood-letting ever seen in the country in the post-war years.

The announcement came six months before the President serves out her constitutional elected term, and after she has governed the country for nine years, making her the second longest-serving president of the republic after the dictator Ferdinand Marcos who ruled for 21 years. Ms Arroyo stands out as the most unpopular president on record since the restoration of Philippine democracy in 1986.

There was no sigh of relief that the President had announced she was quitting. Instead her announcement sparked demands for her immediate resignation, and not continue to govern until the mandatory end of her term.

The demand claims she cannot end the carnage and that violence would spiral in Mindanao if she does not resign. She is blamed for the bloodbath in Mindanao because of policies that has fostered conflict between political warlords. During her presidency, the government has appeared to have lost control of the feuding private armies in the region, and to have lost its sovereignty over parts of the country in which private warlords have imposed their rule of violence and slaughtered people wholesale, immune from retribution by the army and the government’s law enforcement organs, including the national police and the prosecution arm of the Department of Justice.

The filing of her certificate of candidacy does not require her to step down. Constitutional law authorities hold that the President can continue to stay in office until June 30 next year, unlike appointed officials who are required to step down upon filing their certificates of candidacy.

The presidential announcement put in bold relief the legacy that she is winding down her presidency with the country engulfed in the worst bloodbath in its history. The Mindanao slaughter occurred during the last few months of her administration. At no time since the 1986 People Power Revolution has the Philippine state been so weak and ineffectual to enforce its decrees and authority over non-state armed groups as during the Arroyo presidency. In trying to bring the Ampatuan clan under the wings of the law and holding their members responsible for the massacre to face the process of justice, the secretary of justice and the secretary of interior, who is in charge of the Philippine National Police, have appeared to be afraid of the Maguindanao warlords and their private armies. Despite their authority and the powers of state at their command, these officials have treated the warlord clan that has delivered votes to administration candidates in the 2004 and 2007 elections as untouchables.

The Mindanao massacre sprang from warlord blood feuds, which involved private armed groups. Ms Arroyo’s failure to put them under the control of the government’s coercive powers revealed the impotence of the state to impose its authority and obtain compliance of its decrees.

During the next few months, Ms Arroyo will continue to preside over a weak state undermined by her political alliances with Mindanao warlords. She lacks the political will to ensure the impartial administration of justice on warlord family members against whom the police and prosecutors have collected evidence.

There is debate over the motives behind the President’s decision to run for Congress. Some of her opponents say it is a “brazen bid” to stay in power. But the President has rejected accusations that she needs to be in Congress to retain immunity against charges of corruption. She pointed out that congressional immunity was only from libel suits for utterances made in session. “That’s not what I’m after,” she said.

Another charge claims a congressional
seat would give her a platform to work her way up to be elected speaker of the House, and to seek amendments to the Constitution for a shift to parliamentary system.

What is clear is that the Maguindanao massacre stains her legacy with the blood of the victims. This is what people will remember most about her last few months in office. This memory fuels demands that she should now leave office without waiting for the expiration of her term. Her continued presence in Malacañang provokes calls for her immediate resignation. Her presence reinforces skepticism that she could restore order in Mindanao. Having more of her, even in Congress, is a chilling prospect.

By Amando Doronila