Malacañang PR machine on damage control as 'vindictive' label sticks after Arroyo arrest

Malacañang deputy spokesperson, Abigail Valte in a recent press statement now makes out the neglect of the Aquino administration to act swiftly to file charges against former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her allegedly numerous "crimes" as proof of President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III being "not vindictive".

Valte reminded Mr. Aquino’s critics that if his actions against Arroyo were borne out of spite, his administration should have filed a string of charges against her starting from “Day One.”

The irony that flies over Valte's head is in how months of trying to be "not vindictive" (according to her definition) is what ultimately resulted in the rushed effort to charge Arroyo at the eleventh hour, the circumstances around which was what earned Malacañang the charge of being vindictive to begin with...

With the way some people are celebrating her arrest, you would think that the courts have already found GMA guilty. But in fact, the legal proceedings haven’t even begun. The haste with which the arrest warrant was issued already tells us that the case is not a very solid one and not only that, proceedings will be done with the usual circus-like and operatic acts that always appeal to the gullible.

This tells us what kind of mentality some Filipinos have – malicious and vindictive. This despite most having a religious upbringing. Ironically, some people who pass on the said photo are the same people who you will see posting religious or feel good quotes on the said social networking sites. The veneer of “compassion” has been unmasked to reveal the hate in the heart of the “God-fearing” lot as a show of misguided patriotism.

The spectacularly rushed and sloppy way with which Arroyo was dragged from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) under the orders of Justice Secretary Leila De Lima to face charges that haven't been filed yet at the time was also marked by a precedent-setting defiance of the Supreme Court (SC) by De Lima in her desperate effort to thwart what was determined previously by the SC to be a legal bid on Arroyo's part to travel abroad.

The "vindictive" label on the Second Aquino Administration following this circus seems to have stuck since as Malacañang's PR machine starts to crank out damage-control media releases (as is evident in Valte's statement) in the aftermath of similar perceptions found to be harboured by a policy think tank based in Europe...

BRUSSELS – The Aquino administration is being vindictive in its treatment of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo which could result in a damaged democracy, according to an executive of a policy think tank.

“It is a question of vindictiveness. It does not pay really to be vindictive against a previous government,” European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS) vice chairman Dick Gupwell said when asked recently about his observation of political developments in the Philippines.

The EIAS, an independent and non-profit institution, provides information and expertise to European Union institutions, the academic world and business on EU-Asia relations as well as other developments in Asia.

“Politics is a dirty business. It was never squeaky clean and sometimes people bend the rules. But being really vindictive and really trying to bring (humiliation on) the other fellow... really makes it dirty. I do not think that is good for democracy in the long run,” he said.

It's been observed as well that fixation on efforts to stamp out corruption is distracting the government from more proactive initiatives to grow the economy.