GLORIA Macapagal-Arroyo lives in Philippines history as president of the Republic of the Philippines from January 20, 2001 up to June 2010. She is an economist so her friends believed that during her watch she stimulated the economy.
Her political opponents vehemently claimed that her presidency is illegitimate because her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, did not resign from his position as president (the legitimacy of GMA’s presidency was upheld by the Supreme Court.) Her critics alleged that she is a woman with no honor because she retracted her earlier statement that she would not run in the 2004 presidential election.
She was accused that she used the taxpayers’ money for her presidential campaign. There was a widespread belief that she cheated in the 2004 presidential election. Many believed that actor Fernando Poe Jr. won in that election. That election turned out to be very controversial because of that “Hello Garci...” incident. That was irritating, funny and shameful!
In performing her work, GMA has a guiding principle, “Do what is right, do your best and God will take care of the rest.” When Benigno Simeon Aquino III became president, GMA was hurled with a plunder case. It was a bitter ordeal for her and she was attacked by an illness that caused her spinal column to ache. That could be God taking care of the “rest” so that she cannot be in jail. She was put to a hospital arrest and ended with a ring around her neck that others called it a ‘dog collar’ (which is not).
When Noy went down from the Palace after his term together with his “Matuwid na Daan”’ and the “Punisher” took over as the new president... then, there came a wonderful time that GMA was released for lack of form and substance in her case That was God taking over the “rest.”
She was elected representative to represent her congressional district in the Lower House. And now... she is already the speaker in the said house. Her ascension to office reminded the other congressmen of the story of the “Trojan Horse.” That was a sudden attack that even the LGBT force in Congress of Speaker Alvarez was not able to prevent.
So, GMA is now the Speaker. History would again remind Filipinos of that ZTE contract between the Philippines and China witnessed by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. That was the supply contract of a national broadband network in 2007. She lauded it as among major landmarks in Philippine-China ties. Probably Digong learned something like that from GMA.
Later that ZTE contract was believed to have been “stolen.” The “theft” raised more questions than answers. That was “extraordinary” day. GMA had left her husband’s bedside from heart surgery, just to witness the signing in Boao on April 21 of five different contracts, including ZTE’s, but the only contract that disappeared was the ZTE deal.
It should be noted that the past Philippine presidents have always stood defiant against Chinese incursions in Philippine water and occupied Kalayaan. Under GMA, our country signed with China a pact for joint seismic and oil-and-gas exploration.
It was also GMA who favored loans from China because Chinese loans do not have the cumbersome requirements asked for by America, Japan, European Union, and other big multilateral lenders. With laxity from the China loan system, graft and corruption can easily penetrate.
The House of Representatives has resurrected that lady with a “ring in the neck.” We do not pray for that worst case scenario but history could always be repeated by the same actors. We have to watch for the remake of the same event. Things that are not funny make us cry. Watch for the lady. Watch for her ring. Pray for the survival of the Philippines.