Tin-pot dictator rises from Edsa II.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Amando Doronila

THE TRANSFORMATION OF President Macapagal-Arroyo from a creature of people power upheaval to a tin-pot authoritarian during the past five years is one of the most amazing episodes of political change in the erratic cycle of Philippine democracy.

Three decades after the overthrow of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippines has never been more threatened with a reimposition of another authoritarian rule than it is today under a democratically elected presidency.

Five years on since People Power II handed power to then Vice President Arroyo, the country has squeezed through a state of national emergency (in February).

Once again, the government is at war with the communist movement, 17 years after the collapse of communist regimes in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

This trend represents a counterflow of Philippine democracy against the historical tide …