THE staying power of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacañang lies not so much on what she is endowed with but on what she has around her. Presidents before her had as much as she has --- intellectual endowment as well as loyal subjects. Yet if either of these two suffers a crack, the President’s downfall follows.

        For the past presidents of the Philippines, their alma mater was of no importance and had seemingly no influence in their conduct as presidents. President Ferdinand Marcos had the University of the Philippines, yet he had little sense of what his alma mater stands for; so did Joseph Estrada who was a dropout of the Ateneo de Manila. Now for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her being an alumna of Assumption College seems not to have rubbed on her a sense of honesty and sincerity. It would seem that schools and universities have in this sense failed in their role to inculcate exemplary values on their students. What they have learned in school was not for life. Scholae, non vitae.

        What is of consequence to these presidents when they are made occupants of Malacanang is how to keep themselves seated, no matter the cost and at all cost.

        President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo obviously draws strength from his cabinet, dominated by men with and from various disciplines. Likewise she draws strength from those outside Metro Manila --- the governors, the congressmen, the mayors. These are the men who have pledged their all to the President, men who --- as the Senate hearings on the ZTE-NBN deal have disclosed – will move heaven and earth, so to speak, to give cover for their master in Malacanang. They are the men who find pleasure in serving the President, let themselves stay in the line of fire by her enemies no matter how corrupt the President has become since they also get their fair share of the benefices of the office in paper bags each containing bundles of P500,000, more or less, or in commissions from projects which she declared and described in her recent State Of the Nation Address (SONA).

        President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo draws strength from bishops who cannot even define definitely their stand on the graft and corruption charges against the Conjugal Greed in Malacanang. It defies logic why after having heard the exposes in the Senate hearing on the Joc-Joc Volante fertilizer scam, the “Hello, Garci” tapes, the Gov. Panlilio P500,000 cash gift, to mention a few, and now the ZTE-NBN “bukol”, the bishops can still sport that innocent look of naivete in their faces and do not have the gift of tongues to call a spade a spade. Where in the world are we, Your Graces? Until when shall Cataline abuse our patience?

        President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo draws strength from generals in the Armed Forces of the Philippines who have made it their daily morning prayer and litany never to break away from the chain of command. For the truth is, the military is trained not to engage in the philosophical search for truth but in blind obedience. Its byproduct is a man who has subordinated the full use of his intellectual powers to that of brute power. And for this condition to be taken advantage of by their officers and by the President even on issues that involve morality is, indeed, evil. For the weakest link in the military is the enlightened soldier. Once this weakest link snaps, the chain is broken. The military becomes divided. It cannot give glory to the Glory in Malacanang.

        This tripod of power is what PGMA is holding on to keep her seat in Malacanang from rocking. And sensing that she has still their support she has mustered the courage to state without batting an eyelash that she will finish her term until 2010. But in the truest sense, hers is a very uneasy chair. For women may fall when there is no strength in men.