YOU don’t have to be very intelligent to know that with a strong-willed, powerful and entrenched ‘enemy,’ every means can be employed to defeat him or her – and that includes, unfortunately, liquidation or assassination .

While many in the ranks of the leftist and military adventurists think doing away, permanently, with a sitting president like Mrs. Gloria M. Arroyo is the final solution to the utter failure of the opposition figures in the legislature and in the bureaucracy to unseat her thus far despite supposed mountains of evidence against her, we believe there are as many from the ranks of the legitimate opposition who cannot, would not, dare not sanction such a bloody measure, no matter how they may hate the guts of the country’s Little Big Woman.

Eliminating the head of government always carries great and immeasurable backlash, not only to the plotters behind it but also to those they feel they want to ‘save’ from mismanagement – the people. This piece is not meant to cite such backlash one by one and would just leave that for the political scientists. Suffice to say, such extreme resort would create more instability and partisanship to a country already rent by factionalism and distrust as it is.

It is no secret that among the many measures always left open with the communist rebels is the total elimination of the head of state and indeed even the overthrow of the entire “corrupt bureaucracy”, who are considered “enemies of the people.” This is not the case though with the government’s armed forces, even granting that it now has disgruntled elements within it. Their loyalty vow is to the preservation of the republic, not its dismemberment, disgrace — or demise.

That is why, despite recent disturbing events, many citizens still believe the Armed Forces can rise above itself and remember in time its solemn oath of serving the higher interests of the State and maintain, at all costs, civilian supremacy over the military. That is after all the very essence of democracy which the rebelling soldiers claim to want to preserve.

We offer a wholehearted prayer towards that direction now for our soldiery as they grapple with their consciences between two opposing choices: to obey the command of State or to harken to the call of Adventurism.