Gloria Arroyo Must Be Forced to Pay Drug-syndicates’ Victims, Other Filipino Crime Casualties and Victims of Extrajudicial Killings that Happened During her Administration

By Lolo Bobby M. Reyes of Sorsogon City

Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria? – from Laura Branigan’s 1982 song, ‘Gloria’

T he voices of Ramon Credo, Sally Ordinario-Villanueva and Elizabeth Batain must now be haunting Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for doing nothing to help them when they unwittingly became drug mules in 2008. There are some 76 or more Filipinos who are facing long prison sentences or the capital punishment in China for the same drug-smuggling offense. Yes, almost all of the said drug-smuggling incidents happened during the Gloria Arroyo Administration.

Then-President Arroyo and her Administration did nothing to catch the leaders of the drug syndicates that were responsible for the smuggling to China and other countries. Catching the ring leaders and extraditing them to China could have resulted in the pardon, or commutation of the sentences, received by the drug mules for they were mere pawns being exploited by the drug lords. The Gloria Arroyo Dispensation did not also order an investigation of the Filipino airport personnel that were obviously in cahoots with the drug syndicates. The drug smugglers could easily hand over to the drug mules the suitcases carrying the heroin and other illegal drugs, as they could easily slip them past the airport x-ray detectors and other preventive measures.

Gloria Arroyo did not lobby for the mitigation of the sentences given to the convicted Filipino drug mules with the Chinese government during her frequent visits to China. Instead then-President Gloria spent more of her time negotiating with crooked Chinese businessmen on how much her team of equally-crooked Cabinet members and her family could get in commissions, rebates and over-pricing on deals that her government was entering into with Chinese companies.

By dealing crookedly with the Chinese government and business firms, Gloria Arroyo lost all respect that foreign governments usually accord the Office of the Philippine President.

Gloria Arroyo must be forced to pay for her acts of corruption, for her failure to protect her constituents, especially the Overseas-Filipino woman workers, and for her stupidity.

Gloria Arroyo Was Advised in March 2001 to Prevent Another “Flor Contemplacion” Incident

In March 2001 during the early days of then acting-Philippine President Gloria M. Arroyo's administration, this writer sent her an appeal on behalf of Filipino overseas workers to President Arroyo. I even published an article about the letter and titled it, “President Arroyo Should Remember Flora Contemplacion in Saving other Filipino Women.” The Office of then-Acting President Arroyo did not bother to acknowledge it.

This writer then published on Sept. 4, 2007, about the March 2001 letter to President Arroyo, this article, The Woman Leaders of the Philippines Must Protect their Fellow Women.

There May Be a Way to Force Gloria Arroyo to Pay and Give Up her Ill-gotten Wealth

O ur Toronto, Canada-based Columnist Romeo P. Marquez wrote about how Canadian activists and advocates would form the so-called “Complaints Choir.” To read about it, please click on this link, A Performance of the Toronto Complaints Choir.

Perhaps if Filipino citizens, especially their proactive students, were to form many "Complaints Choirs" and sing to Gloria Arroyo the tune popularized by Laura Branigan, the people can embarrass the crooked former President. Perhaps, radio stations can continue to play Ms. Branigan’s record, especially when Ms. Gloria Arroyo has a public appearance. People can bring portable radios and everybody can play it simultaneously. Yes, people can hound and haunt Gloria Arroyo with Ms. Branigan’s 1982 song. Believe you me, it will take only a continuous barrage of “Gloria” to force her to lose her mind and probably she will give up her ill-gotten wealth, so as to recover her sanity. Especially if people will sing louder this phrase, “I think you're headed for a (mental) breakdown, so be careful not to show it.”

Now can we try to practice by singing with Laura Branigan the lyrics reproduced below the YouTube link?

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Gloria – By Laura Branigan

Gloria, you're always on the run now
Running after somebody, you gotta get him somehow
I think you've got to slow down before you start to blow it
I think you're headed for a breakdown, so be careful not to show it

You really don't remember, was it something that he said?
Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria?
Gloria, don't you think you're fallin'?
If everybody wants you, why isn't anybody callin'?
You don't have to answer
Leave them hangin' on the line, oh-oh-oh, calling Gloria

CHORUS:
Gloria (Gloria), I think they got your number (Gloria)
I think they got the alias (Gloria) that you've been living under (Gloria)
But you really don't remember, was it something that they said?
Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria?

A-ha-ha, a-ha-ha, Gloria, how's it gonna go down?
Will you meet him on the main line, or will you catch him on the rebound?
Will you marry for the money, take a lover in the afternoon?
Feel your innocence slipping away, don't believe it's comin' back soon

And you really don't remember, was it something that he said?
Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria?

CHORUS:
Gloria (Gloria), I think they got your number (Gloria)
I think they got the alias (Gloria) that you've been living under (Gloria)
But you really don't remember, was it something that they said?
Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria?

CHORUS:

(Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria)
(Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria)

(To Be Continued . . .) # # #