Widely off the mark.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Amando Doronila

TIME magazine made President Macapagal-Arroyo its cover story, for the third time, on its Aug. 4 issue. The article cited President Macapagal for "crisis management" after her government swiftly quelled last Sunday's mutiny.

Time cannot be more widely off the mark. Crediting her for crisis management is an assessment that is contradicted by evidence of how she responded to the rebellion. The mutiny was the first serious military challenge to her three-year presidency, the first serious test to her consuming project to build a "strong republic." And the crisis revealed the shaky foundations of the Philippine state.

The President's initial response exposed her ineptitude in crisis management. Apparently, the President panicked when confronted by an armed challenge.

Although the President had been warned by military intelligence of the coup plot and military movements foreshadowing the rebellion, prompting her to warn the nation last Friday that a coup was in the offing, she did not use her powers as commander in chief of the armed forces to preempt it. She did say in a press briefing that the armed forces were hunting a band of soldiers who had deserted their posts and "illegally brought weapons."

The hunt was futile, suggesting that the military was not zealous enough in carrying out her orders to arrest the deserters. By 2 a.m. on Sunday, the rebels had slipped into Makati and seized a hotel. My sources inside Malacanang Palace told me that the Makati attack stunned and "rattled" the President who appeared so paralyzed she was unable to respond quickly.