Sun Tzu's Advice No. 3, "Let's bring the battle to the courts"

Sun Tzu says, "Those who are skilled in warfare will always bring the enemy where they want to fight, and are not brought there by the enemy."

This crisis can be won only in the courts. GMA cannot allow it to be fought in the parliament of the streets. The sooner it is brought to the courts and moved out of the streets, the sooner that this crisis will be diffused.

On one hand, the parliament of the streets is clearly the battlegorund of GMA's enemies.This country and these people have a very strong tradition of protest that dates all the way back to the Spanish era. Like sharks in the water, 100 people protesting on the streets can be lethal. Didn't EDSA 1 start only with less than a hundred that were brought over by Butz Aquino to support the frantic Juan Ponce Enrile back in 1986? The streets are dangerous these days. GMA should make sure the enemies are swept away from them.

On the other hand, the courts are clearly the battleground for GMA. She has the best lawyers working for her. She controls the justice department, and has the pwoer to compel it's secretary to act like he were the First Family's consiglieri. After all, it is a matter of national security. Moreover, the Philippine judicial system is tailor-made for the defense. Whoever is beseiged in the court has more than an even chance to win with a bevy of good lawyers and the power of the presidency being weilded by the defense every now and then. And by the time these cases are heard, the street parliamentarians would have dozed off.

What GMA has to do now is to convince everybody to take the action to court. It's the constitutional and legal way. Ask the people to stay calm and let the legal system do its work. Find a way to make Sammy Boy bring his evidence to the courts instead of he brandishing them on primetime television with the Erap mobs. Now is the time to convince everybody that people power has reached the end of the line. In the words of Atty. Alan Paguia, the rule of law should prevail over the rule of force.

Mikey tell Mommy, the magic word is the "courts".