,$PEAKING OIJT

Take a bow, P/SGMA

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loria Macap.agal Arroyo has many
f ' in her colorful resumd
f, T- former academician, former
\"d government technocrat, former
senator, former vice president, cum cabinet
member, former president, detainee, former
House speaker.
She is only the second woman to become
president of the Philippines. But she is the
first and so far the only female speaker of
the House of Representatives.
She is only the second president to be
criminally charged and detained.
But justifiably, the Supreme Court,
voting 11-4, dismissed the charges against
her.
In effect, the high court ruled that she
did not pocket F50 million ofPCSO funds as
alleged. She did not pocket ql million. She
did not even pocket a single peso.
' Compared to both her predecessors
ind her successors. Arroyo is the least
,populan
1 But she delivered where it counted
most. Being only the second economist to
be elected President fter father President
Diosdado Macapagal ,avas the first) she
was laser-focused on gtowing the economy
and in signifrcantly reducing the gountry's
pover$r incidence.
Even her harshest critics wiU find it dif-,
ficult l,o dispute the$ numbers which my
good friend Tony Lripez of BizNewsAsia/
likes to hightight.
During her tenure as president, Lopez
asserts, Arroyo nearly tripled the size ofthe
Philippine economy from 974 billion in 2001
to more than $200 billion in 2010.
Governor/Congressman Joey Salceda
- a former student to whom the president
gave the highesl marks in her economics
class - credits the Arroyo presidency for
establishing a record period of continuous
quarterly growth even at the height of the
' 2008 globalfinancial crisis when otherecono-
mies floundered.
During her g-year presideng4 the pov,
erty rate dropped 13 percent - from 39
Monday, July 15,2019
-
percent to 26 percent.
Incoming ilouse Majority F loorleader Martin Romual-
dez attributes this to Arroyols pro-poor projects like the
affordable housing units and conditional cash transfer
program for the poorest of the poor.
Analysts attribute Arroyo's achievements to her bold,
albeit unpopular, fiscal reforms.
, The principal of these was the implementation of the
EVAT which provided the wherewithal which allowed
her administration to invest in human and physjcal infra-
dtructure.
Good macro-economic fundamentals eventually re-
sulted in an investment grade rating for the country The
improved rating has made the Philippines more attractive
and more competitive in th€ global stage.
The one-year stint of Arroyo as House speaker in the
17th Congress was no less productive. The legislative
priorities of the Duterte administration * identilied in the
last SONA - were all passed. Among them were the
Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), measures helping
coconut farmers and fisherfolks, the. sqcond tranch
of the tax reform law or the TRABAHO bill, and the
expanded PhilHealth coverage.
Arguably her career is ending on a high note.
I had the privilege of serving as her press sec-
retary/presidential qpokesman for almost six years.
My tenure was longer than the average shelf life of a
cabinet member in that high-pressurejob. At one time,
I even served as actirig executive secretary
Up close and personal, I had the opportunity to
observe and admire herbest traits - hard work, disci
pline, decidiveness, and deep abiding faith.
Good !uck, Mrs. President/Mrs. Speaker. God
speed.
Note: You mag :;:ish to shore Lhe [oregoing uio
Fac ebook and I ar 1\Ditler.

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