Arroyo slams Aquino' 'abuse of political power'

MANILA -- In her New Year message, January 1, detained former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo slammed the Aquino government for its abuse of power and political persecution.

“The New Year 2013 invites us to continue unfinished work even as we brace for new challenges. We are concerned that the slogan of anti-corruption still remains to be validated by measurable progress and continues to be mocked by the abuse of political power to favor those on the inside while persecuting those on the other side,” Arroyo said over her Twitter account, @gmarroyo.

Arroyo’s message came amid the government’s suspension order issued against Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

On the 11th day of her defiance, Garcia received as her guest Elena Bautista-Horn, the chief of staff and spokesperson of the former President, who has been a close ally of the Cebu governor.

Reports say Horn told Garcia of the former President’s continued support of her.

Arroyo spent her Christmas and New Year’s Eve at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, where she is currently under hospital detention in connection with the plunder suit she is facing.

The Sandiganbayan had denied her request to spend the holidays at her residence in Lubao, Pampanga.

Arroyo, who was Aquino's economics professor in college, also said that the present administration has failed to “reap the rewards” of economic stability achieved under her watch.

“The promise of ideas like PPP remains to be realized by the actual start, let alone completion, of new projects that will improve upon the substantial infrastructure we have already built. The fiscal stability & macroeconomic resilience that was first achieved on my watch still remains to be translated into more foreign direct investments that will ultimately deliver the inclusive growth that the business sector and the impoverished three million unemployed Filipinos are still waiting for,” Arroyo said in a series of tweets.

“To do this, we will have to demonstrate a healthy respect for contracts, a practical understanding of how free markets operate, and a willingness to adhere to genuine economic data and not just propaganda. Most of all, we pray that true justice be administered to all without bias and prejudice,” she added. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)