The Philippines’ president Gloria Arroyo is fighting for her political survival after opposition lawmakers started impeachment proceedings against her on July 25. The motion to expel her from office includes accusations that Dr. Arroyo is guilty of major crimes, including election fraud, vote rigging in last year’s election and financial corruption. The document states: "By so flouting justice and the rule of law, she has committed an unforgivable outrage against the Filipino people [and] a betrayal of public trust." A protest street rally of 25,000 opposition supporters called for her resignation. However, this is nowhere near the hundreds of thousands that ousted former presidents Marcos and Estrada.

The impeachment complaint was filed just hours before she gave her annual state-of-the-nation address. She used the speech to try to quell public anger by focusing on the country’s need for urgent political reform, to bring greater political stability. She conceded: “The system clearly needs fundamental change - and the sooner, the better.” She struck a positive note by saying the economy was “now poised for takeoff”. However, she needs to convince ordinary Filipinos that she has not swept fundamental issues under the carpet. She has the lowest popularity ratings of any of the last five presidents. She sidestepped the impeachment allegations, which will now dog her and perhaps end her presidency.

WARM-UPS

1. I’M LEADER: You are the leader of your country. Walk around the classroom and meet the other “world leaders” in your class. Talk about your daily lives, the big issues currently facing you, your rivals etc. Talk also about your honesty. Have you ever lied to the public?

2. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think presidents and prime ministers never lie. Students B think presidents and prime ministers lie in every speech they make. Change partners often.

3. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

The Philippines / Gloria Arroyo / impeachment / election fraud / elections / corruption / street protests / public anger / sweeping things under the carpet

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

4. IMPEACHMENT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “impeachment”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

5. FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE: Write down three fundamental changes you think your government needs to make. In pairs / groups, talk about those things and explain why you think they are so fundamental. Repeat the activity by writing down and discussing three fundamental changes you need to make in your life.

6. STREET PROTEST: The Philippines is famous for mass street protests, dubbed as “people power”. Which of these things have made / would make you take to the streets? How serious are they? Do they happen in your country?

1. Human rights violations
2. Your president / prime minister having extra-marital sexual relations
3. Going to war against a country that is not your enemy
4. Your country’s immigration policy
5. Excessive police brutality
6. The doubling of income tax
7. A law that prohibits the public wearing of religious symbols
8. The introduction (or removal) of the death penalty
9. Other

Change partners and compare what you talked about.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	Philippines’ president Arroyo is fighting for her political survival.	T / F
b.	The impeachment document states she is guilty of vote rigging.	T / F
c.	A rally of 25,000 Arroyo supporters gathered in the streets.	T / F
d.	Former presidents Marcos and Estrada support impeachment.	T / F
e.	Impeachment started hours before her state-of-the-nation speech.	T / F
f.	Dr. Arroyo said the country needed fundamental political reform.	T / F
g.	Dr. Arroyo said she loved cleaning and sweeping her carpets.	T / F
h.	Dr. Arroyo has bought a dog to help increase her presidential appeal.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	expel	avoided
b.	rigging	mocking
c.	flouting	deposed
d.	rally	plague
e.	ousted	acknowledged
f.	quell	falsifying
g.	conceded	alleviate
h.	poised	rid
i.	sidestepped	ready
j.	dog	march

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	fighting for her	proceedings against her
b.	started impeachment	a positive note
c.	vote	of public trust
d.	a betrayal	former presidents
e.	ousted	under the carpet
f.	annual state-of-the-nation	rigging
g.	try to quell	political survival
h.	She struck	address
i.	swept fundamental issues	impeachment allegations
j.	She sidestepped the	public anger

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the correct spaces.

Philippine president faces impeachment

The Philippines’ president Gloria Arroyo is _______ for her political survival after opposition lawmakers started impeachment proceedings against her on July 25. The _______ to expel her from office includes accusations that Dr. Arroyo is guilty of major crimes, including election _______, _______ rigging in last year’s election and financial corruption. The document states: "By so _______ justice and the rule of law, she has committed an unforgivable outrage against the Filipino people [and] a _______ of public trust." A _______ street rally of 25,000 opposition supporters called for her resignation. However, this is nowhere near the hundreds of thousands that _______ former presidents Marcos and Estrada.		betrayal vote motion flouting fighting ousted protest fraud
The impeachment complaint was _______ just hours before she gave her annual state-of-the-nation address. She used the speech to try to _______ public anger by focusing on the country’s need for _______ political reform, to bring greater political stability. She _______: “The system clearly needs fundamental change - and the sooner, the better.” She _______ a positive note by saying the economy was “now _______ for takeoff”. However, she needs to convince ordinary Filipinos that she has not swept fundamental issues under the _______. She has the lowest popularity ratings of any of the last five presidents. She sidestepped the impeachment allegations, which will now _______ her and perhaps end her presidency.		carpet urgent struck quell dog conceded poised filed

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘political’ and ‘survival’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the gap fill. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT “COUNTRY LEADER” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about national leaders.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

survival motion fraud flouting betrayal ousted

filed urgent sooner poised carpet dog

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. What was your initial reaction to this headline?
2. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
3. Have you been following the events leading up to the impeachment proceedings?
4. Are you interested in the political affairs of other countries?
5. What do you know about politics in the Philippines?
6. What do you know about Gloria Arroyo?
7. Do you think she is a good and strong leader?
8. Do you think the allegations against her are true?
9. Have you ever taken part in a street protest?
10. Do you love your nation’s leader?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What did you think about what you read?
3. What do you think is the toughest part of being a nation’s leader?
4. What do people get angry about in your country?
5. What fundamental changes need to take place in your country?
6. Does your nation’s leader(s) sweep issues under the carpet?
7. Does the leader of your country enjoy good popularity ratings?
8. What issues are currently dogging your nation’s leader?
9. What things in life are currently dogging you?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

LEADERSHIP: What attributes are important to be a good leader? Discuss the importance of those below. Place a score of 1 (not important) to 10 (highly important) in the “Importance” boxes. Talk about whether your nation’s leader and/or Mrs. Arroyo have these attributes. Finally, discuss whether you have these qualities.

ATTRIBUTES	IMPORTANCE	YOUR LEADER / MRS. ARROYO	YOU
Never lies
Highly intelligent
Brilliant orator
Wonderful smile
Dynamic style
Squeaky clean  public life
Lovely clothes
Opposes war

Change partners and share what you heard from your earlier partner(s).

Discuss whether you would be a good president / prime minister and why (not).

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Philippine president faces impeachment

The Philippines’ president Gloria Arroyo is fighting for her ________ ________ after opposition lawmakers started impeachment proceedings against her on July 25. The motion to ________ her from office includes accusations that Dr. Arroyo is guilty of major crimes, including election ________, vote ________ in last year’s election and financial corruption. The document states: "By so ________ justice and the rule of law, she has committed an unforgivable ________ against the Filipino people [and] a ________ of public trust." A protest street rally of 25,000 opposition supporters called for her resignation. However, this is nowhere near the hundreds of thousands that ________ former presidents Marcos and Estrada.

The impeachment complaint was ________ just hours before she gave her annual state-of-the-nation address. She used the speech to try to ________ public anger by focusing on the country’s need for urgent political reform, to bring greater political stability. She ________: “The system clearly needs fundamental change - and the sooner, the better.” She ________ a positive note by saying the economy was “now ________ for takeoff”. However, she needs to convince ordinary Filipinos that she has not ________ fundamental issues ________ the ________. She has the lowest popularity ratings of any of the last five presidents. She ________ the impeachment allegations, which will now ________ her and perhaps end her presidency.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on Philippines’ president Gloria Arroyo. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. MY LEADER: Make a poster outlining the virtues and failings of your nation’s leader. Where are the areas for improvement? Show your posters to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all cast your leaders in a similar light?

4. LETTER TO GLORIA ARROYO: Write a letter to Gloria Arroyo. Tell her what you think of her leadership. Give her advice on how to handle the upcoming months. Read your letter to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. T

c. F

d. F

e. T

f. T

g. F

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	expel	rid
b.	rigging	falsifying
c.	flouting	mocking
d.	rally	march
e.	ousted	deposed
f.	quell	alleviate
g.	conceded	acknowledged
h.	poised	ready
i.	sidestepped	avoided
j.	dog	plague

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	fighting for her	political survival
b.	started impeachment	proceedings against her
c.	vote	rigging
d.	a betrayal	of public trust
e.	ousted	former presidents
f.	annual state-of-the-nation	address
g.	try to quell	public anger
h.	She struck	a positive note
i.	swept fundamental issues	under the carpet
j.	She sidestepped the	impeachment allegations

GAP FILL:

Philippine president faces impeachment

The Philippines’ president Gloria Arroyo is fighting for her political survival after opposition lawmakers started impeachment proceedings against her on July 25. The motion to expel her from office includes accusations that Dr. Arroyo is guilty of major crimes, including election fraud, vote rigging in last year’s election and financial corruption. The document states: "By so flouting justice and the rule of law, she has committed an unforgivable outrage against the Filipino people [and] a betrayal of public trust." A protest street rally of 25,000 opposition supporters called for her resignation. However, this is nowhere near the hundreds of thousands that ousted former presidents Marcos and Estrada.

The impeachment complaint was filed just hours before she gave her annual state-of-the-nation address. She used the speech to try to quell public anger by focusing on the country’s need for urgent political reform, to bring greater political stability. She conceded: “The system clearly needs fundamental change - and the sooner, the better.” She struck a positive note by saying the economy was “now poised for takeoff”. However, she needs to convince ordinary Filipinos that she has not swept fundamental issues under the carpet. She has the lowest popularity ratings of any of the last five presidents. She sidestepped the impeachment allegations, which will now dog her and perhaps end her presidency.

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