Poe supporters may stage EDSA 4, Tatad warns

Supporters of defeated presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. warned of another people power revolt to protest the results of the May 10 elections and unseat President Arroyo.

According to defeated Koalis-yon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) senatorial bet Francisco Tatad, majority of the people believed that the May 10 vote was marked by massive fraud and cheating.

"If the majority believes that we have no recourse but to retreat to the sovereign will of the people, the constituent power of the people, then it will come to that," Tatad added.

Tatad told the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo Hotel news forum in Quezon City that the original 1986 EDSA people power revolt was triggered by massive electoral fraud.

"It was right to do it in ‘86 because the electoral system did not work," he claimed.

"If in our judgment today, the electoral system has not worked and is not working, then we should not be prevented from concluding that it is right to do it all over again," he said.

Tatad, the former information minister of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos who was ousted during the first EDSA revolt in 1986, expressed confidence that another people power revolt which will now be led by the opposition, will be supported by the majority of the people.

"At this point, I believe that the opposition is the aggrieved party. And the opposition will decide according to what it believes is in the national interest, what will be supported by the public. What we will do will take into account the history of this country," he said.

Tatad repeatedly echoed the claims of the opposition that Poe became a victim of massive fraud by the administration, using government funds and resources.

Administration Senator-elect Rodolfo Biazon, however, strongly warned against the staging of another people power scenario.

Biazon said another revolution may not guarantee that a democratic government led by Poe will be established.

"Are you proposing an EDSA 4? That is your freedom to say it. (But) are you sure that anybody who will be the proclaimed leader of an EDSA 4 will be the one sitting?," Biazon asked Tatad.

"If we rely upon the street parliament as a means to resolve political problems in this country, are we now throwing to the wastebasket all the legal institutional processes?," he asked.

Biazon stressed that even if the opposition will lead the revolt against Mrs. Arroyo, it will not guarantee that Poe will sit as president.

"I don’t think you can be sure that it would be FPJ who would be sitting," he told Tatad.

Opposition leaders have refused to accept Mrs. Arroyo’s election victory and said they would offer an alternative to her leadership amid continued fears of another people power uprising against her administration.

Mrs. Arroyo beat her closest rival Poe by 1.1 million votes - about three percentage points - but Poe’s supporters claim the popular movie actor was cheated in the May 10 election.

"We have not accepted this proclamation and we are not about to," Tatad said.

Horacio Morales, another Poe ally, said the opposition was building "a broad coalition of all those who refuse to accept the fraudulent election results, and who oppose (Arroyo) for one reason or another."

Morales, the former agrarian reform secretary of ousted President Joseph Estrada, said the opposition wants to go beyond protesting alleged electoral abuses to a more substantive reform of the political system. He didn’t single out any specific action.

"There are many ideas coming out, like a transition government. Some groups are saying snap elections, but we don’t know yet," he said.

Morales explained their goal is to provide an "alternative leadership."

For his part, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, a member of the executive committee of Poe’s Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP), refused to say directly whether similar mass protests were likely, but noted that unless "truth and justice" are addressed, the potential is there.

Congress on Thursday formally proclaimed Mrs. Arroyo the winner, ending a bitter ballot count that the opposition fought every step of the way.

Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said security threats have eased in the capital since the proclamation, but that police and troops remain on alert amid warnings that some groups may try to move against the government in the coming weeks.

Security forces said they were guarding key areas and access roads to Metro Manila, including the historic EDSA Shrine that has been the site of previous people power protests.

Mrs. Arroyo’s inauguration next Wednesday will be guarded by about 2,000 police in and around Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park, where she is expected to make a statement before flying to Cebu City to thank supporters. Police said 3,000 officers will be deployed in Cebu during the inauguration.

Police are also monitoring the movements of known Poe groups in the countryside, particularly at the Matnog seaport in Sorsogon where busloads of supporters were reportedly deployed to participate in anti-Arroyo rallies.

On the other hand, Biazon appealed to the opposition to take their case by legal and constitutional means.

"If there are anyone who would question the results of the last election, let us go by the constitutional processes that are already defined for us and not go to the streets and following what any self-proclaimed leader will do," Biazon said.

Chief Justice Hilario Davide also appealed to the opposition to take their case before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).

Davide said if the opposition wants to question Mrs. Arroyo’s proclamation as president, it should file a protest before the PET.

But KNP lawyers and Poe’s allies said any effort to take their case before the PET would be too costly and take too long. - With Celso Amo