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Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s decision to run for a congressional seat in her home province of Pampanga has been roundly criticized as a brazen display of an addiction to power. Others have faulted her for an utter lack of delicadeza, degrading the highest office of the land by seeking a lower post in the legislative branch of government.

One of her predecessors, former President Fidel V. Ramos has even urged her to resign if only to level the playing field because she is expected to make use of the vast powers and resources of the presidency to smother her prospective rivals in the run for a congressional seat.

But all these pleas and criticisms have apparently fallen on deaf ears, as GMA filed her certificate of candidacy heeding what Malacanang calls the clamor of her prospective constituents – clearly a manufactured call, if ever there was one.

In trying to understand why a sitting president would degrade herself by running for such a lower post, political observers have advanced two reasons for this unprecedented move: one, GMA wants to enjoy the cloak of immunity from suits once she leaves Malacanang given all the high crimes she is being accused of while serving as the president of the country; two, she wants to push a charter change that would pave the way for a parliamentary system where she could eventually capture the prime ministership thus bringing her back to Malacanang.

The first reason is not quite tenable as we have seen sitting congressmen being charged for crimes like rape and murder eventually being convicted and sent to prison. The case of former congressman Romeo Jalosjos of Zamboanga comes to mind who was charged with rape, convicted and put behind bars, although he is now a free man again, courtesy of GMA.

The second reason looks more plausible, and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita has admitted that much. GMA has not abandoned her plan of revising or amending the country’s constitution. Her party, the Lakas-Kampi- CMD, is expected to send enough members to the Lower House in next year’s election thus making it the majority party in Congress.

What might frustrate GMA’s political plans, of course, would be the willingness of whoever is elected as president in May 2010 to give way to her overarching ambitions. Would Gibo Teodoro or Noynoy Aquino easily accede to having their terms as president cut short to give way to GMA’s prime ministership in a parliamentary system. That is highly doubtful proposition.

The earliest that a parliamentary system could be in place would be in 2016 after the term of the next elected president. Would this mean therefore that a congresswoman GMA would have to wait for another six years before her ambitions are fulfilled?

Not necessarily. Six years is a long waiting time for a person addicted to power. So many things can happen even before the holding of next year’s elections. While many has condemned this latest GMA ploy, let us remind ourselves that she is not alone in wanting a charter change.

The need for vigilance remains as various political and economic forces both foreign and domestic toys with our country’s future for their own selfish agenda. A well-informed and organized citizenry is the best antidote against those who would want to consign us to poverty, ignorance and misery.# nordis.net