Ex-President warns of economic danger under present admin

Friday, June 24, 2011
CITING the increasing poverty and inflation rates, former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo warned Friday that the Philippine economy is already posting “danger signs” that may lead to instability.
While the economy is still benefiting from the sustainable growth her administration worked for, “this is not to say that there are no danger signs, there are danger signs,” Arroyo said in her first press conference with the House media as Pampanga’s second district congresswoman.
“Yung ekonomiya na iniwan ko, it was very strong at the time there was a global crisis. Now, when the rest of Asia is recovering, our economy is decelarating so yun ang problema,” the former President remarked.
“The characterization of nobody home…there may be danger lurking ahead for our economy,” she said, adding President Benigno Aquino III’s lack of leadership has already been shown during the handling of the hostage-taking crisis in Luneta last year.
The incident led to the killing of eight Hong Kong nationals.
The President-turned-congresswoman, meanwhile, asserted that during her administration, the inflation rate was recorded as the lowest among all administrations and self-rated poverty average rates also remained low. These figures have gone up under the Aquino administration.
“Even the score of the Philippines in corruption today is going up and then figures in foreign investments was just one half of what it was during my time during the same period, so those were the danger signs so that’s why there is a need to decide what programs should be continued and what programs should be dropped; but work has to be done,” she said.
In a report recently released by the Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd., the country’s corruption score rose to 8.9 percent, higher than last year’s 8.25 percent.
Arroyo boasted of the 7.9 percent growth rate she left after her nine-year stay in Malacanang, and the first automated elections in the country as a few of her major accomplishments before she ran and eventually won as a member of Congress.
Unlike her successor, however, the former President credited the gains during her administration to the former leaders of the country.
“I would say that the gains I made were built on the effort of previous leaders because every administration should build on previous successes, continue programs that work, of course you may drop programs that do not work but as I said I left an economy that did no longer have the boom and bust cycle of the past because I was really focused on sustainability; that’s why I started my reforms with fiscal sustainability,” she said.
President Arroyo, an economist, was heavily criticized, among others, for increasing the value added tax rates to 12 percent from 10, a move seen to hike government revenues to avoid a fiscal crisis.
“I have to raise taxes even if it is unpopular and that doomed me to unpopularity already for the rest of my term. But I had to do that because we needed funds for health, education, job creation, infrastructure and all the things that we need for sustainable growth,” she added.
Asked about her first year after her nine-year term as President, Arroyo said occupying a legislative seat continues to give her opportunities to serve the Filipino people, especially the poor.
“I’m also able to continue working for health, education and jobs that they can be within the reach of the Kapampangan family…I helped draft the Pampanga development plan, so that’s me for the past year,” she said.
Not surprising, Malacanang says
Shortly after Arroyo’s press conference, Malacanang issued a statement scoring the former President.
“We find it unsurprising that Representative Arroyo has chosen to try to make political hay when the sun isn’t shining,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
“Despite her glaring absence from proceedings inquiring into her culpability and accountability as President, she has found time to try to obtain media mileage at a time that calls for the attention of media, the public, and the government on the current weather disturbance,” she added.
“Representative Arroyo essentially wants to be treated as a former president at a time when no one has denied her the courtesies due her formerly being chief executive. She seems to confuse official courtesy with the hallmark of her stay in power — impunity,” she continued.
The Palace official noted that Arroyo’s press conference is “merely a ploy to deflect attention from her refusing to submit to proper procedures for ascertaining accountability.”
“She may well be unused to the idea of an independent Ombudsman in the near future; and furthermore, upset that the time of her being above the rules and beyond accountability is finally over,” Valte said.
“We regret that instead of focusing on her constituents’ needs at this time, she is, instead, trying to hog the headlines in a gambit to distract attention from her past deeds,” she further said. (Kathrina Alvarez/Jill Beltran/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/06/24/ex-president-warns-economic-danger-under-present-admin-163073

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