Many people are already itching to see Gloria get out of the Malacanang premises. After the May 10 election they have started counting already. They could hardly wait for another day, not even June 30 when she is supposed to have vacated Malacanang which served as her home for nine long years.
“I have no regrets. (No regrets at all?) I don’t want to focus on negatives, so, in fact, rather than talking about regrets, I like to give thanks for the opportunity to serve the Philippines,” that’s what president Gloria Arroyo said in an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News.
Further in the interview she said: “I’m the same person, just older, a little wiser. I have a strong belief in the Filipino people, strong faith in God, and I believe the economy is the most important that we have to attend to as leader of Philippines.”
And on being a president Gloria commented; “It’s a sacrifice, but it’s the right thing to do for the people. As president, my father tells me: you do not become a president to enjoy, you become president to make sacrifices for people and to suffer it may be, and I did for the people.”
In a few days we shall have a new president, the winner of the first automated election in the country, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino lll whose large margin against his closest rival on the race, Joseph “Erap” Ejercito Estrada could be attributed to the over 4 million votes of the INC to him.
Gloria insures that her transition team should work hard enough to make Noynoy Aquino’s (or P-Noy) assumption to power will be smooth enough as he begins assuming responsibility as the new Chief Executive of the country.
Just a day after Congress proclaimed Aquino and Binay as the president and vice-president elect, Gloria made a phone call to Senator Aquino to congratulate him. Although Aquino felt a little bit uncomfortable with the president’s call, nevertheless he also thanked the president for doing so.
No matter what her critics say, still the president did the right thing. This is Gloria being in her true self. She is no longer that “mataray” (arrogant?) that she used to be when she did nothing but to parry left and right all the accusations of corruption, abuse of power, incompetence, and illegitimacy of office they hurled against her. As a human being (that others refuse to recognize she is capable of) there is a lot of goodness in Gloria. She has a very loving and compassionate heart if others can only see it through the so many programs and services her administration had accomplished during her term of office. Again, as others refuse to recognized, she’s the only president who had built more infra-structure projects such as roads, bridges, airports, seaports, etc., for the entire country. As a result economic productivity increases and so with job opportunities. Critics can belie all these claims, but Gloria despite all the scandals linked to her administration had a long list of accomplishments which many of us are not aware of.
Nobody likes Gloria as the president, the media made it a point it should be like that till her last day in her office. Gloria may leave Malacanang without regret, she just did her part. Just like the Marcoses, only history could judged her if she did the right thing as our president.
Although her critics are unhappy about the P10 million pesos she will be spending for the Independence Day Celebration on June 12, for that it is even extended up to Monday (June 14) so that it would give an opportunity for all to attend and enjoy reminiscing our past at it relates to our present development for the sake of unity and reconciliation, the good president still insisted to proceed with the celebration if only to lay the foundation for unity and healing of this highly divided nation. Unfortunately the president elect already declared he is not attending any Independence Day celebration set on another date. Well that’s his prerogative as a free person but sure he will be missing an opportunity for reconciliation offered by once a political friend but later turned out a bitter foe.
Sure Gloria has a lot of misgivings to the Filipinos as the media try to project, but Gloria will soon step down from Malacanang to give way to her predecessor to also prove his worth too to the same people she served. Gloria is not off the hook yet, she will be facing a lot of criminal cases her enemies shall file against her. But Gloria is not running away with it, like Erap she will always be ready and willing to face her accusers in court.
Tags: congress, Corruption, court, Gloria Arroyo, governance, Graceful Exit, Independence Day Celebration, law and justice, Malacanang, Noynoy Aquino, people, Philippines, plunder, politics, power
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