Cory Aquino’s call for GMA to resign

Cory Aquino’s call for GMA to resign

(The following is the statement of former president Corazon C. Aquino on the present political crisis besetting the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.)

ONCE again, I must involve myself in what I hope and prayed to be spared from, after devoting the best years of my life in the service of our country and at a price that included the highest anyone can pay. But duty to one’s country in a critical time cannot be shirked. It is my difficult duty now to ask for a supreme sacrifice to be made.

I will not judge the lapse of judgment that the President had the humility to confess but I cannot escape the conclusion that is plain for all to see: the country cannot continue in its present tumultuous state; good and effective government has become an impossible undertaking.

Without this sacrifice, our country faces only a future of danger to its freedom and progress. That sacrifice must be made by the President as soon as possible. I told her this personally when we met last night.

At this juncture only two constitutional paths remain open for the peaceful and democratic resolution of the present crisis crippling the government and endangering the nation.

The first and most expeditious is the President’s voluntary resignation for a smooth transition to her constitutional successor, the vice president, and a swift return to normalcy for the country. This is the fastest and most orderly path to take. And it is one in which her undoubted abilities will play a major role.

Ang una at pinakamadaling paraan ay ang kusang loob na pagbibitiw sa posisyon ng ating Pangulo para sa mapayapang paglipat ng kapangyarihan sa ating pangalawang pangulo.

My call for her resignation joins the call of those who, like me, have no other interest in making it other than the highest one of saving our country.

The second path is the long and inherently contentious process of a congressional impeachment that can only generate more divisions in society and cast more suspicions on the threatened institutions of our democracy.

I ask the President to spare our country and herself from this second option and make the supreme sacrifice of resigning.

Hinihiling ko sa ating Pangulo ang pinakamatimbang na personal na sakripisyo, para sa kapakanan ng ating mamamayan.

I say this fully acknowledging the good work she has done in office, and the industry and dedication she has consistently displayed. Her qualities were acknowledged by her most important cabinet members when they resigned today because it is no longer possible for her to govern and for them to do their work.

I ask the President, in all humility and with full awareness of its difficulty and pain, to make this supreme sacrifice to spare the country from the violence that threatens it from those who seek in her lapses of judgment, not a reason for reform, but an excuse to subvert the Constitution, grab power and destroy our country.

The sacred oath that she and I took to uphold that Constitution by every means in our power, and which compels me to speak out today, now urges her to relinquish the presidency.

Ang aming banal na panata na itaguyod ang ating saligang batas ang siya ring nag-udyok sa akin na magsalita ngayong araw na ito.

The best of those who call for her resignation mean her no harm but only the very best that is still possible for her and our country by her resignation. I hope she will trust us to be there for her, as we trust her to do the right thing for the country in this hour of trial.
God bless and guide the President.

Mahal na Panginoon patnubayan Ninyo po ang Pangulo.

Pagpalain tayo ng Panginoon.

Maraning salamat po.