Aspirants praise, hit Arroyo's record in ANC forum
by Purple S. Romero, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 05/12/2009 2:36 AM
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“Transactional politics" and political insecurity bogged down President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s attempts to inject real changes in the country, her ally Sen. Richard Gordon said in an ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) leadership forum held at the Ateneo de Manila University on Monday.
Gordon, along with presidential hopefuls Senators Manuel “Mar” Roxas, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Pampanga Gov. “Among” Ed Panlilio, and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro were asked to evaluate the Arroyo administration.
While he praised her “work ethic,” Gordon did not mince any words when he said that Arroyo has kowtowed to Congress more than once in order to sustain their loyalty.
“She has to pay attention to the demands of the congressmen who can always file an impeachment case against her,” he said.
The opposition in the lower House has tried to unseat Arroyo four times in the last five years. The complaints failed to prosper since Congress, which is dominated by administration allies, has been unable to get one-third votes to impeach Arroyo.
Economy and environment
The Arroyo administration scores high on economy and environment, according to two of the aspirants.
Teodoro said there were bright spots, particularly in 2007, when economic growth reached a high 7.2% percent.
Aside from this, Arroyo also launched programs to keep unemployment at a manageable level against the backdrop of a worsening global financial crisis.
Teodoro also cited achievements in infrastructure such as the rehabilitation of the North and South Luzon Expressways.
BPOs, cartels
Roxas, a staunch Arroyo critic, lauded the president for her support for the business process outsourcing industry, which Roxas introduced during his term as trade secretary.
He added that Arroyo also backed him in his efforts to curtail the pharmaceutical and cement cartels.
Panlilio said Arroyo mustered the will to pass two laws that strengthened environmental protection–Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act, and the recently-enacted Renewable Energy Act.
Arroyo has set a deadline this June for all local government units to comply with RA 9003, which seeks to reduce solid waste volume by 50 percent, and cut emissions from open dumpsites.
Arroyo signed into law the Renewable Energy Bill last year to support the development of alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power.
No political will
Panlilio, however, noted Arroyo’s lack of political will in improving governance. While he recognized her role in providing a smooth transition in leadership following the ESDA 2 revolt in January 2001, he decried Arroyo’s inability to rid her administration of corruption.
Arroyo’s second term has been plagued with controversies, starting with the "Hello Garci" in 2004, a wiretapped conversation between Arroyo and an election commissioner indicating electoral fraud.
The First Couple was also linked to the botched National Broadband Network-ZTE (NBN-ZTE) telecommunications deal, and the fertilizer scam, where around P400 million in fertilizer funds were allegedly siphoned to the campaign kitty of administration bets in the 2004 local elections.
Escudero, meanwhile, said the only good thing that has come out of the Arroyo administration is that it “opened the eyes” of the people to the realities of malfeasance, and pushed them to set high standards for the next president in 2010.
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