GMA claims presidency ‘thrust’ upon her in 2001 By Aytch S. de la Cruz 06/13/2010

GLORIA GOES ERAP-BASHING ANEW GMA claims presidency ‘thrust’ upon her in 2001 By Aytch S. de la Cruz 06/13/2010 Outbound President Arroyo harked back to the 2001 military-backed takeover of the presidency from popularly-elected President Joseph Estrada in defending her much-criticized nine-year administration, saying she did not seek the presidency but instead it was “thrust” upon her in one of her last major speeches before stepping down on June 30. Arroyo speaking before to diplomats and government officials at a reception marking the country’s 112th Independence Day tried to counter allegations of corruption and mismanagement during her nine-year rule, claiming she will leave behind an economically robust and politically stable country. Arroyo was vice president in 2001 when Estrada was forced to step down after a military coup that was veiled as a popular uprising. Arroyo, however, was believed to have been part of the plot to remove Estrada from power from the day he assumed the presidency after winning by a landslide in the 1998 elections. The plot had among its members the Church hierarchy, the so-called civil society whose members were mainly the rich and now form the core of the political base of President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Makati-based businessmen and military generals allied with former President Fidel V. Ramos.  “It was thrust upon me. Rather than shirk from the onerous task, I rolled up my sleeves, determined to turn the Philippines around,” Arroyo said. Arroyo, who will go down in history as the most unpopular president ever for the country, claimed she had reversed the country’s economic decline by raising revenues, investment in infrastructure and posting 37 quarters of growth and promoting last month’s first nationwide automated elections which she will change the face of Philippine politics. She detailed the efforts of her government to bring the country back on the global map.  She claimed that when she took over as President in 2001, the Philippines was in a dismal situation.  “Internationally, the Philippines has fallen far, far off the radar screen. It had forfeited its strategic importance, weakened its alliances in the region and the world, and taken itself out of consideration by investors as a place to invest,” she said. It was during her watch, however, that the Philippines was considered in consecutive surveys of international institutions such as the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), the Transparency International and the Global Competitiveness surveys as among the most corrupt country in the world.  It was also during her administration that the budget deficit hit record levels and she is leaving the government with a back-to-back budget blowout last year and this year of more or less P300 billion. However, she claimed in her speech the government’s dire financial situation which her administration inherited from the previous predecessor is now “in a much healthier position today than nine years ago.”  “We will leave a legacy of hard work, a strong and stable economy and renewed global engagement, major investments in health care, education and physical infrastructure,” Arroyo said.  “I know much work remains to be done, but I am determined to turn over to a new government a new Philippines, one that is ready for the challenges of bringing the nation to the verge of first world in 20 years,” she added..... MORE     Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100613hed1.html

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