MANILA (4th Update) -- In her last State of the Nation Address (Sona), President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo criticized her detractors for the first time.

The President, however, did not categorically say if she will extend her term or not.

Sun.Star to host post-Sona chat

Arroyo also defended her record during her turbulent 8 1/2 years in power and assured lawmakers she will not lift term limits set by the Constitution.

“I have never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term,” Arroyo said. “Many of those who accuse me of it tried to cling like nails to their posts.”

“I am accused of misgovernance. Many of those who accuse me of it left me the problem of their misgovernance to solve. And we did it,” she said as a message to her critics.

“I am falsely accused, without proof, of using my position for personal profit. Many who accuse me have lifestyles and spending habits that make them walking proofs of that crime,” she said.

“At the end of this speech, I shall step down from this stage... but not from the presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state -- to the very last day,” she said.

Pro-democracy

Arroyo said she will defend democracy when threatened by violence in her last months in power -- a warning to anyone plotting to remove her by force.

The 62-year-old US-trained economist has survived four coup attempts and four impeachment bids since 2001. Her opponents have accused her of maneuvering to extend her six-year term either by amending the country’s 1987 Constitution to lift term limits or by imposing martial law.

“The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-cha (Charter change) when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it,” she said.

She said in the face of attempted coups, she issued emergency proclamations “just in case.”

“But I was able to resolve these military crises with the ordinary powers of my office. My critics call it dictatorship. I call it determination,” she said.

‘Scared’

“But I never declared martial law, though they are running scared as if I did. In truth, what they are really afraid of is their weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat,” she added.

Arroyo, a former vice president, served part of another president’s term after replacing Joseph Estrada, who was deposed in 2001.

Riot police on Monday used trucks, barbed wire and shipping containers to block more than 10,000 people who braved the rain to protest outside the House of Representatives, where Arroyo gave her hour-long annual speech.

Reactions

Protest leaders warned Arroyo of public unrest if she clings to power.

“Ms. Arroyo’s political maneuvers... to perpetuate herself in power will surely face the people’s wrath,” said Representative Rafael Mariano, who boycotted Arroyo’s speech and joined the protesters.

Opposition Representative Roilo Golez, Arroyo’s former national security adviser, said the President’s promise not to extend her stay in office “may not be as categorical as some people would want it, but it sounded like goodbye.”

United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney also said Arroyo’s address “sounded like a final” speech in Congress.

Left-wing activist and lawmaker Satur Ocampo, however, said Arroyo failed to ask her congressional allies to stop efforts to amend the Constitution to extend her term.

“Such uncertainty will continue to fuel protests,” he said.

The rowdy demonstrators set on fire a huge effigy of Arroyo, who was depicted as a decomposing figure in a red dress atop a military tank labeled “Gloria Forever.” A huge streamer read, “Gloria, you’re history.”
Eleven priests in white cassocks held letters that formed the phrase, “Enough of GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo).”

Obama meeting

In her speech, Arroyo said she was the first Southeast Asian leader invited to the White House for a meeting Thursday with President Barack Obama.

On the agenda will be security issues and terrorism, Arroyo said US troops have been training Filipino soldiers battling al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mindanao.

Arroyo also said her government’s fiscal measures protected the Philippine economy from the global financial meltdown, claiming sustained growth and getting close to a balanced budget. She also pointed to advances in education, promotion of next year’s automated elections, improvements in infrastructure and initiating fresh peace bids with Muslim and communist rebels.

CBCP

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), meantime, approved of the Sona.

“It was prepared very well and logically with the accomplishments of the administration,” said CBCP president Angel Lagdameo, in an article posted at the CBCP’s website.

But the CBCP official said the speech would have been complete if President Arroyo also reported the things her government failed to accomplish in the past year.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Lucenito Tagle noted that Arroyo’s expression of support on full automation of the May 2010 polls is an assurance that she has no plans of extending her term.

“She categorically stated that there will be elections in 2010,” he said.

In a separate interview, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said it is a good sign when the President stated that she plans to end her term in 2010.

Arroyo, in her speech, advised presidential aspirants to talk about how to build up the nation rather tear down their opponents.

She added: “give the electorate real choices and not just sweet talk.” (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)