Photo-montage: Anti-riot police prepare for independence day demos (Val Rodriguez & PNL) From a distance one sometimes sees things from a very different perspective. And many Filipinos who now live and work abroad are dismayed by all the shenanigans that those who want to topple the Arroyo administration are resorting to. The unceasing volley of accusations aimed at destabilizing this administration is the case in point. These despicable tactics seem to be "lifted" verbatim from the Ferdinand Marcos rulebook on governance: "How to Obliterate Your Opposition...For Good!" Although, as with Marcos, such tactics have a way of backfiring on those who use them ...usually with dire consequences. From our perspective, it seems quite clear that all these charges being hurled at the president and her family are part of an orchestrated power grab by those who stand to benefit most from the corrupt government they want to replace Arroyo's with. The constant barrage of lies and innuendo is meant to chip-away at GMA's credibility and that of her family. And in the Philippines, it is so easy to go on political mudslinging sprees because the country's convoluted justice system almost guarantees that those who do it will never be made to answer for their actions or even substantiate their accusations. It's a no-brainer for the unprincipled opposition. Add to this volatile mix the commonly held belief that where there's smoke fire, and you have a recipe for political upheaval.Mikey Arroyo files libel charges against accusers Ultimately, this is what the anti-Arroyo camp hopes to achieve. If they can get enough Filipinos to accept their fabricated perception as reality then they can easily orchestrate yet another People Power revolution to throw this president out of office. Will the masses fall for this charade and rise up against the Arroyo administration? We doubt it. But what we'd really like to see happen is those who make unfounded or false accusations taken to court, and quickly thrown in jail if found guilty. For their lies not only harm their intended targets, their lies destroy the trust Filipinos have for one another. Since the Marcos dictatorship, our country's social fabric has been left in tatters. We need to carefully mend it and make it strong once again, not tear it further. Published 2005