President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has upset millions of Filipinos who place high value on honesty. She has also upset the not-so-honest politicians and ideologues from the extreme Left and the Right who have ferociously acted like hounds ready to chew her up at the slightest manifestation of corruption. They have seized every situation as a stage to expose the rottenness of the GMA administration.

GMA’s administration came out in defiance at first, and then apologized later. But the much-maligned strategy of asking for forgiveness did not please the opposition. It even infuriated the likes of former president Cory Aquino and most of the president’s men and women who called for GMA’s resignation.

Former president Fidel Ramos threw his support behind the embattled president. By doing so, Ramos, who still commands respect from the country’s military establishment, did not only save GMA’s presidency from total collapse, but made it clear that he is not yet ready to accept a Noli de Castro presidency or the return of Joseph Estrada.

Early on, first gentleman Mike Arroyo and his congressman son, Mikey, left for the United States in an effort to soften the continuous attack on the president. Mike and Mikey are the central figures in the alleged “jueteng” lottery payoffs. By making them leave the country, the GMA administration thought that the opposition would stop their onslaught. Instead, it had the opposite effect.

The current political climate has all the makings of another People Power revolution. Various political factions organized pockets of demonstrations. But the intended effect of more and more people joining the demonstrations did not materialize.

I think the people are suffering from “people power fatigue.” Since Ferdinand Marcos was driven out of power, four presidents have since then taken the rein of the government, but the Philippines has continued to fail its people: poverty is on the rise, corruption is rampant, Filipinos continue to look for jobs overseas, the military is highly politicized and politicians don’t really care for the people. William Esposo, in his article entitled, “Perilous Options for the Country and Gloria M. Arroyo,” describes both the opposition and the administration as two sides of the same rotten coin. I can’t agree more.

Filipinos cringe at the thought of replacing an unpopular president with someone who might be just as worse.

Panfilo Lacson has many skeletons in his closet.

Noli de Castro’s intelligence and statesmanship are suspect.

Franklin Drilon is an opportunist who, after praising GMA in a speech, later turned his back on GMA in a matter of days.

A revolutionary council as proposed by retired Gen. Fortunato Abat and a transitional governing council as proposed by the NDF are replete with unanswered questions, ranging from who will appoint the members to what their programs of action are.

As the public outcry for GMA continues, the powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) indirectly supported the status quo by not supporting the anti-GMA sentiments of the opposition. Meanwhile, GMA continues to show a measure of toughness by clinging to the presidency.

In the midst of all this political melodrama, what cannot be discerned is what will happen next. I have no crystal ball to predict who the next president will be or what type of government will emerge from the current debate.

But what I will venture to say is that the Philippines needs an authoritarian leader like Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore or a Mohamad Mahathir of Malaysia who really love their people. Yes, they’ve used the force of the law to discipline their people – isn’t this what the Filipinos need? – but they’ve also worked for the common good. China, South Korea and Vietnam are now experiencing economic miracles precisely because of the government’s strict authoritarian rule and concern for the people’s needs.

The reason the Filipinos in the United States are generally disciplined is because they know that the laws will be strictly and consistently enforced. They know they will be penalized if they don’t follow the traffic rules or if they don’t pay their taxes. A former classmate of mine describes this as “hot stove discipline.” Anybody who touches a hot stove will get burned, whoever he is.

Da Apo Marcos had his chance of instilling discipline among Filipinos, but his greed, disregard for human rights, and his politicalization of the military overran any semblance of public service. He sacrificed the interests of the people in favor of his own.

On one hand, the Filipinos need a leader who really loves the people, can empathize with the poor and will work for the interest of the many no matter what the cost is. But on the other hand, the people also have to change their outlook and attitude and show genuine concern for their country.

These are but a few of the many lessons that we can learn from the current political drama unfolding in the Philippines.