Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (April 5, 1947[1]) is the fourteenth and current

president of the Philippines. Arroyo is the country's second female president,

and the daughter of late former Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal.

A professor of economics, Arroyo entered government in 1987, serving as

assistant secretary and undersecretary of the Department of Trade and
Industry upon the invitation of President Corazon Aquino. After serving as a
senator from 1992 to 1998, she was elected to the vice presidency under
President Joseph Estrada, despite having run on an opposing ticket. After
Estrada was accused of corruption, she resigned her cabinet position as
Secretary of Social Welfare and Development and joined the growing opposition
to the president, who faced impeachment. Estrada was soon forced from office
by what its advocates would ascribe to peaceful street demonstrations of the
EDSA Revolution of 2001, but which critics credit to a conspiracy among
political and business elites, military top brass and Catholic Church bishop
Jaime Cardinal Sin.[2] Arroyo was sworn into the presidency by then-Chief
Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. at around noon on January 20, 2001 amidst the
EDSA II crowd, hours before Estrada left Malacañang. She was elected to a full
six-year presidential term in the controversial May 2004 Philippine elections,
and was sworn in on June 30, 2004. In the 2009 rankings of Most Powerful
Women by Forbes, she was ranked as the 44th most powerful woman in the
world.

BIOGRAPHY

She was born as Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal to politician Diosdado

Macapagal and his wife, Evangelina Macaraeg-Macapagal. She is the sister of
Dr. Diosdado "Boboy" Macapagal, Jr. & Cielo Macapagal-Salgado. She spent the
first years of her life in Lubao, Pampanga with her two older siblings from her
father's first marriage.[1] At the age of four, she chose to live with her maternal
grandmother in Iligan City.[4] She stayed there for three years, then split her
time between Mindanao and Manila until the age of 11.[4] She is fluent in
English, Tagalog, Spanish and several other Philippine languages, most
importantly, Kapampangan, Ilokano (learned from her mother), and Cebuano
(learned from living in Iligan City, Mindanao, where the language is lingua
franca).

In 1961, when Arroyo was just 14 years old, her father was elected as
president. She moved with her family into Malacañang Palace in Manila. A
municipality was named in her honor, Gloria, Oriental Mindoro. She attended
Assumption Convent for her elementary and high school education, graduating
valedictorian in 1964. Arroyo then studied for two years at Georgetown
University's Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C. where she
was a classmate of future United States President Bill Clinton and achieved
consistent Dean's list status.[5] She then earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in
Economics from Assumption College, graduating magna cum laude in 1968.

In 1968, Arroyo married lawyer and businessman Jose Miguel Arroyo of

Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, whom she had met while still a teenager.[1] They
had three children, Juan Miguel (born 1969), Evangelina Lourdes (born 1971)
and Diosdado Ignacio Jose Maria (born in 1974). She pursued a Master's
Degree in Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University (1978) and a Doctorate
Degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines (1985).[6] From 1977
to 1987, she held teaching positions in different schools, notably the University
of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University. She became chairperson
of the Economics Department at Assumption College.

In 1987 she was invited by President Corazon Aquino to join the government as
Assistant Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry. She was
promoted to Undersecretary two years later. In her concurrent position as
Executive Director of the Garments and Textile Export Board, Arroyo oversaw
the rapid growth of the garment industry in the late 1980s.

POLITICAL LIFE: SENATOR UP TO PRESENT

Senator

Arroyo entered politics in the 1992 election, running for senator. At the first
general election under the 1987 Constitution, the top twelve vote-getting
senatorial candidates would win a six-year term, and the next twelve candidates
would win a three-year term.[7] Arroyo ranked 13th in the elections, earning a
three-year term. She was re-elected in 1995, topping the senatorial elections
with nearly 16 million votes.

As a legislator, Arroyo filed over 400 bills and authored or sponsored 55 laws
during her tenure as senator, including the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law, the
Indigenous People's Rights Law, and the Export Development Act.[1]

The 1995 Mining Act, which allows 100% foreign ownership of Philippine mines,
has come under fire from left-wing political groups.

Vice Presidency

Arroyo considered a run for the presidency in the 1998 election, but was
persuaded by President Fidel V. Ramos and leaders of the administration party
Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats to instead seek the vice-presidency as the
running mate of its presidential candidate, House Speaker Jose de Venecia,
Jr.[8] Though the latter lost to popular former actor Joseph Ejercito Estrada,
Arroyo won the vice presidency by a large margin, garnering more than twice
the votes of her closest opponent, Estrada's running mate Senator Edgardo
Angara.[9]

Arroyo began her term as Vice President on June 30, 1998. Historically, she
was the first and only to date female Vice President of the Philippines. She was
appointed by Estrada to a concurrent position in the cabinet as Secretary of
Social Welfare and Development.[8]

Arroyo resigned from the cabinet in October 2000, distancing herself from
President Estrada, who was accused of corruption by a former political
supporter, Chavit Singson, Governor from Ilocos Sur.[10] She had initially
resisted pressure from allies to speak out against Estrada,[11] but eventually
joined calls for Estrada's resignation.[10]
Presidency

“Join me therefore as we begin to tear down the walls that divide. Let us build an
edifice of peace, progress, and economic stability”
— Gloria Arroyo, January 20, 2001

Arroyo's ascent to the Philippine presidency in 2001 is mired in controversy as

much as the ouster of her predecessor with which it is intertwined. On January
20, 2001, after days of political turmoil and popular revolt, the Supreme Court
declared the presidency vacant. The military and the national police had earlier
withdrawn their support for Estrada. At noon, Arroyo was sworn in as President
of the Philippines by Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr.[10] Coincidentally, Arroyo
assumed office the same day as US President George W. Bush.

While the local media and its proponents hailed EDSA II as another peaceful
"People Power," international views expressed through the international media
described it as a conspiracy to oust Estrada and install Arroyo as president.
The New York Times writes that Southeast Asia-based political economist
William Overholt called it as "either being called mob rule or mob rule as a cover
for a well- planned coup."[13] The International Herald Tribune reports how the
"opportunist coalition of church, business elite and left... orchestrated the 'People
Power II movement."' [14] On Arroyo's proclamation as President, Former
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew opined that there is "an assumption
of power here which isn't in the constitution."[15]

Weeks later, Estrada filed a lawsuit challenging the legal basis of the Arroyo
presidency and insisting he remained the lawful president, though adding he
would not try to reclaim his post.[16] The Supreme Court issued its decision on
March 2, 2001, asserting that Estrada had resigned the presidency and
relinquished his post.[10] The court unanimously voted to dismiss Estrada's
petition, reaffirming the legitimacy of Arroyo's presidency.[10]
On May 1, 2001, a week after Estrada was arrested on charges of plunder, an
estimated 40,000 protesters sympathetic to Estrada degenerated into violence
and attempted to storm the presidential palace to force Arroyo from office.[17]
Four people died, including two policemen, and more than 100 were wounded
in clashes between security forces and rioters.[17][18] After being dispersed the
crowd had looted stores and burned cars.[17] Arroyo declared a 'state of rebellion'
in Manila and ordered the arrests of opposition leaders who lead the uprising
and conspired to topple the government.[17] The state of rebellion was lifted one
week later, with Arroyo declaring "the disorder has subsided".[18]

Support for the opposition and Estrada subsequently dwindled after the victory
of administration allied candidates in the midterm elections that was held later
that month. Arroyo outlined her vision for the country as "building a strong
republic" throughout her tenure. Her agenda consists of building up a strong
bureaucracy, lowering crime rates, increasing tax collection, improving
economic growth, and intensifying counter-terrorism efforts.

ADMINISTRATION OF PGMA (2001- UP TO PRESENT)

Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (the daughter of the late President

Diosdado Macapagal) was sworn in as Estrada's successor on the day of his
departure. Estrada later challenged the legitimacy of Arroyo's government,
claiming he did not resign from office, but the Supreme Court twice upheld
Arroyo's legitimacy. After Estrada was arrested on corruption charges in April
2001, thousands of his supporters staged an "EDSA III" to overthrow the Arroyo
government, but the attempt failed when the protest rallies degraded into
violence. Arroyo's accession to power was further legitimated by the mid-term
congressional and local elections held in May 2001, when her coalition won an
overwhelming victory.[17]

Arroyo's initial term in office was marked by fractious coalition politics as well
as a military mutiny in Manila in July 2003 that led her to declare a month-
long nationwide state of rebellion.[17] Although she had declared in December
2002 that she would not contest the May 2004 presidential election, citing a
need to heal divisiveness, she reversed herself in October 2003 and decided to
run.[17] She was re-elected and sworn in for her own six-year term as president
on June 30, 2004.

In 2005, a tape of a wiretapped conversation surfaced bearing the voice of

Arroyo apparently asking an election official if her margin of victory can be
maintained.[18] The tape sparked protests calling for Arroyo's resignation.[18]
Arroyo admitted to inappropriately speaking to an election official, but denied
allegations of fraud and refused to step down.[18] Attempts to impeach the
president failed later that year.

Arroyo currently spearheads a controversial plan for an overhaul of the

constitution to transform the present unitary and presidential republic with a
bicameral legislature into a federal parliamentary government with a
unicameral legislature.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Net 21 - Educationing Filipino Youth for the 21st Century

Common Man's Day

Medical Missions and Supplemental Feeding

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo served as Secretary of the Department of

Social Welfare and Development from July 1998 to October 2000, or a total of
27 months.

In her more than two years at the Department, she established the AHON
Programs - Ahon Bayan, Ahon Bata and the Ahon Pamilya - which are all aimed
at improving the lives of the poor and the disadvantaged through strengthening
linkages with various stakeholders. The Quick Reaction Team was also started
during her term.

Ahon Bata sa Lansangan

Our Future is in the Future of Filipino Children
The project seeks to strengthen and speed up past and present attempts to
address the difficulty of street children. Specifically, it provides street children
and their families with necessary social services to protect their rights and
enjoy a new lease on life. The project covers as priority areas the 17 cities and
municipalities in the National Capital Region. More than 11,730 children were
reached out through the project.

Ahon Bayan
Ahon Bayan and the DSWD's Main Tasks

Ahon Bayan is a resource generation project for social welfare services. It

addresses the insufficiency of funds for social welfare. The project aims to
produce and mobilize resources by matching donors from local and
international funding agencies with proponents from non-government
organizations and people's organizations. The project is now institutionalized as
a regular DSWD project. Since 1998, Ahon Bayan programme has funded a
total of 80 projects throughout the country.

Ahon Pamilya

The project is also universally known as the "National Family Violence

Prevention Program". It is a community based plan of preparing family members
to protect themselves against violence and manage resolution of disagreement
within the context of family members. The program is being supported by the
New Zealand government and is being pilot tested in regions III, IV, V, VIII and
X.

Quick Reaction Team Pamilya

The program which was launched in January 1999 has put in place an
instrument that guarantees immediate response to the needs of sexually
abused women and children. It assembled individuals, professionals, volunteers
and other socio-civic and religious organizations towards am effective response
in sexual abuse cases. It involved the Integrated Bar of the Philippines,
Katarungan para sa Kababaihan at Kabataan, and Child Justice League for the
provision of legal services. The QRT assisted 4,128 child abuse victims.

Internal Audit Service (IAS) and the External Assistance Office (EAO)
The two offices were also operationalized during her stewardship of DSWD. The
IAS helps ensure that DSWD's resources are administered efficiently,
economically and effectively through continuous and special review of control
and quality assurance, policies and procedures. The EAO on the other hand,
mobilizes resources and generates fund sources for social welfare and
development projects.
During her stewardship of DSWD, Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also made
major achievements in the regular DSWD programs.

Self- Employment Assistance Kaunlaran (SEA-K)

The SEA-K project is a community-based micro-financing project which builds
abilities of people's organizations to self-administer a socialized credit system.
Project components are social preparation, capital assistance, savings
mobilization and access to other social services. For this project, 2,184 SEA-K
Associations were extended capital support benefiting 61,879 families. Each
family-beneficiary was given P5,000.00 capital assistance for its chosen
livelihood project.

Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS)

The flagship program to fight poverty in the 5th and 6th class municipalities
nationwide including urban communities. It uses the four-pronged approach of
community organizing, total family approach, convergence and focus targeting.
More than one million family-beneficiaries benefited from the package of CIDSS
project during her term as Secretary of DSWD.

Early Childhood Development Project (ECD)

The project was designed to uphold the survival and development of children six
years old and below in Regions VI, VII and XII. It refers to child and family
focused services designed to build on and improve existing health, nutrition
and early education services for disadvantaged children. During her term more
municipalities and provinces in the pilot region were covered.

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Health Revolution
Leading the country to a better health, safety and well-being, President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo keeps on providing development in the health division
through various projects and policies. Foremost among these are her
commitments to ensure that affordable, high-standard and efficient health
services are accessible to poor families. Some of the projects undertaken are
food enrichment program, measles elimination campaign for Filipino children,
reducing the price of drugs and medicines by fifty percent (50%), Sentrong Sigla
health centers, and execution of programs against emerging diseases (e.g.
SARS, meningococcemia, Avian flu virus etc.)

Tax and Fiscal Reforms

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has always believed that an increase in
revenue collections would result to more funds for social services. It is also
expected to strengthen the people's standard of living by providing them with
more jobs and attend to the country's budget debit.

That is the reason why through her leadership, the government has instituted
administrative measures and revenue-generating tax measures to further
improve revenue collections. Three monthly budget surpluses have been
recorded in 2005, with revenue collections increasing by 15% in the first eleven
months of that same year over the same period in 2004. Thus, the budget
deficit is now very well within its target.

The president aims to achieve a balanced budget by 2010 by generating

additional revenues and savings through aggressive legislative and
administrative measures.
Ginintuang Masaganang Ani
Fighting poverty by building prosperity for the most number of the Filipino
people has been the major concern of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo since
the start of her term in office. Through Republic Act 8435, otherwise known as
the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), the strengthening of
the agriculture and fishery sectors by modernization and greater participation
of small farm holders was implemented which in turn had resulted to revived
food security and food self-sufficiency programs of the government. Effective
program implementation and policy execution in 2005 increased the
agricultural sector's production during the first three quarters by 1.7%. The
government continues to formulate programs which would eventually increase
production of agricultural supplies to ensure availability of supply.

Creation of Jobs
Included in the 10-Point Reform Agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
the government is putting its best efforts to give the people with jobs and open
up employment to strengthen the economy. Alongside with the government's
Medium Term Development Plan for 2004- 2010, employment and generation of
jobs are one of the government's top priority.

Improving Transportation and Road System

Decongestion of roads within Metro Manila is part of the agenda of the
President in decentralizing progress around the nation through the use of
transportation networks like the roll-on roll-off and the digital infrastructures.

Education Reform
In line with her obligation to significantly decrease poverty nationwide,
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has stressed the need for an active
partnership between the government and various sectors to sustain efforts
concerning various aspects of the schooling system. These are lessening the
textbook backlog; constructing more school buildings; restoring English as
medium of instruction; implementing the Basic Education Curriculum or BEC ;
improving teacher welfare; sparing public school teachers from the “vagaries of
politics”; mainstreaming distance learning; and launching the internet-based
education program.

The National SME Development Agenda

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been pushing for the expansion of small
and medium enterprises through her national SME Development Agenda,
believing that they are a vital engine of the Philippine economy.
Participating agencies have taken the initiative in various projects to attain
major gains being a flagship program for poverty improvement. The Department
of Trade and Industry remains focused on the small and medium enterprises
program of the government while the National Anti-Poverty Commission
continues to be the champion for micro-enterprise development and open
access to markets for the poor. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of
Science and Technology, the Social Development Committee have likewise been
practicing the promotion of SMEs.
The role of Local Government Units (LGUs) has been cited in the
implementation of the ‘Isang Bayan, Isang Produkto, Isang Milyong Piso’
program.

Housing
Housing efforts under the Macapagal Arroyo administration plan to provide the
bottom 40 percent of households with affordable socialized housing. The private
sector shall be organized to innovate and produce decent housing at lower
costs, while the government shall be tasked to improve the efficiency of the
housing market. The President has enjoined the support of Congress to enact
bills addressing the high price of urban lands for housing. By putting into place
a sustainable housing financing, the private sector, especially the banks, is
called to participate in the housing market. The housing program shall also
provide security of tenure for the informal sector, consisting of poor and low
salaried workers from government and the private sector. Assistance will be
extended in the form of consultations for resettlement, housing and livelihood
training to affected poor families who are in danger areas.
Land Distribution
In recognition and support of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP) as a strategic program to fight poverty and push rural development, the
Macapagal Arroyo administration has speed up land distribution and delivery of
support services to the farmer-beneficiaries. The same shall apply to the
distribution of public lands. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are the lead
agencies for land distribution, agricultural lands to be distributed by DAR,
while public lands to be distributed by DENR.

Mindanao Natin
The Mindanao National Initiative or “Mindanao Natin” is the sound strategy for
peace and development in Mindanao that is being executed across many areas
of action from security to infrastructure to education to economic growth to
poverty reduction to law enforcement. Pushed to be an important step towards
the fulfillment of the promise of the region, “Mindanao Natin” aims to mobilize
the local governments, civil society and the business community in the
blueprint for development for Muslim Mindanao. It has been noted that Muslim
Mindanao continued to be the poorest area in the country, beset by a very low
literacy rate and whose economic exclusion has resulted in conflicts. Guided by
four principles, the socio-economic package would be carried out in over 5,000
villages in Mindanao’s four regions- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM), Southcentral Mindanao, Western Mindanao and Northern Mindanao.
A 10-point program has been drawn in view of the Tripoli Agreement reached by
the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro National
Liberation Front.

Strong Republic Nautical Highway

The Strong Republic Nautical Highway is one of President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo's major legacies to the nation. Covering 17 cities, towns and islands that
will reduce by 17 hours the travel time using the common land and sea routes,
the "highways of the sea" or the "moving bridges concept" is something that
could transform not just business and agriculture in our island provinces, but
also domestic tourism. The nautical highway will provide the backbone for the
development of tourism and agricultural industries, by enhancing the
accessibility of unique tourist destinations west of the Philippines. It would
minimize the handling expenses and time travel for goods, resulting in reduced
prices for consumers. There will be less need for loading the goods on and off
barges, as cargo trucks themselves can get on the ro-ro. The leading
beneficiaries would be our island provinces.

Presyong Tama, Gamot Pampamilya

Gamot na Mura at Abot Kaya
The Presyong Tama, Gamot Pampamilya is the government's actual response to
address the heavy burden of high medicine prices on the Filipino consumers.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the instant accomplishment of
this program that will improve public access to quality healthcare. The program
involves the importation of widely recognized, off-patent branded medicines
which are usually prescribed for the most common ailments and diseases.
These medicines shall be made available to Filipino consumers at very
affordable prices.

KALAHI
The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) program is an anti- poverty plan
of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The project will
help the government in strengthening the capability of local government units
(LGUs) to design, implement, and manage development activities. Such
activities may include basic infrastructure like new or rehabilitated roads and
bridges, barangay schools and clinics, and water supply and sanitation
facilities. Communities will prioritize their development needs, design activities,
seek technical expertise and make informed choices on how resources are used
for sustainable poverty reduction. More than 5,300 poor barangays in 193
municipalities in 40 of the poorest provinces in the Philippines are probable to
benefit from this project. These will be mostly in rural areas, where most poor
Filipinos live.

E-Procurement
The Electronic Procurement System or EPS is one initiative of government to
improve and modernize government's procurement services. It involves the
creation and operation of a central portal for government procurement, bidding
and supplier information requirements, and the increasing use of the portal
among government agencies. The EPS is expected to attain transparency in
public procurement activities. The resulting improved competition will
encourage the attainment of the best quality products at the lowest possible
prices and consequently generate substantial savings in public spending. Some
P80 million in newspaper advertisements and P600 million out of the P17
billion government procurement budget are expected to be saved. Acquisition
time by government agencies shall also be shortened by two (2) weeks, and
eventually, deliveries can be done "just in time".

Electrification of Barangays
The program aims to provide electricity to 1,513 barangays all over the country.

National Health Insurance Program

Philhealth is the government's priority health program that aims to benefit the
country's poor communities. Citing the need for universal health care to help
the poor survive with the prohibitive costs of getting sick, the President directed
the Philhealth to expand its network coverage to the poor, mostly those living in
the urban areas. A health insurance card holder and any member of his family
who gets sick can go to a government hospital and present the said card to avail
of free medical services.
Good Governance - Intensified Anti-Graft and Corruption Campaign

In her Inaugural Speech in 2001, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo explained

on her administration's core belief to achieve good governance: "To ensure that
our gains are not degenerated through corruption, we must improve [moral
standards]. As we do so, we create fertile ground for good governance based on
a sound moral foundation, a philosophy of transparency, and an ethic of
effective implementation."
KABAYANIHAN
The program is an integrated delivery of basic services to OFWs at worksites
abroad and at home in the Philippines. Under Kabayanihan, the OFWs will be
able to avail themselves of the following services: Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration On-Site Welfare Services that would include
expanded/voluntary membership. DOLE/OWWA/Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration Electronic Identification Card (E-Card) services.
Health maintenance services through the OWWA Medicare program wherein the
OFW and members of the family will be entitled to benefits over and above those
granted by PhilHealth. Pag-IBIG Fund's Housing services wherein the DOLE
and the Pag-IBIG fund have already signed a memorandum of agreement for the
joint implementation of the Pag-IBIG Overseas Housing Program (POP). The POP
aims to expand Pag-IBIG membership among OFWs and provide them the
opportunity to obtain their own homes at affordable means. SSS Provident
Fund (Flexi-Fund) services, which will be solely for OFWs, is designed to allow
workers to save hard-earned money while working abroad. By investing in the
Flexi-Fund at a very affordable cost, workers are assured continued earnings
after retirement.

Tindahan ni Gloria Labandera Rolling Stores

This project aims to give the poor the opportunity to buy food and medicines at
much lower prices. Rice is now available anytime, inexpensive and of good
quality

SCANDALS

2001

‘Payola’ for FG
Barely had President Arroyo warmed her seat when the first in a series of
scandals involving the first family erupted.Correspondence secretary Veronica
“Bing” Rodrigo accused first gentleman Mike Arroyo of taking a P50-million
bribe in July 2001. The bribery was said to be for President Arroyo to recall her
veto on two franchise bills. The first bill involved the Philippine Communication
Clearinghouse which sought a franchise to operate a clearinghouse where telco
firms were to interconnect for a certain fee. The second bill granted APC
Wireless Interface Network a franchise to build a wireless telecommunication
system nationwide.

The companies were allegedly owned by Jaime Dichavez, a close friend of former
President Joseph Estrada, who allegedly used Pacifico Marcelo as his dummy.
According to Rodrigo, a woman named Malou Nuñez from the office of the
Presidential Legislative Liaison Office under Gabriel Claudio approached her,
inquiring about the request to veto the bills.

Rodrigo is a friend of the president, having been classmates in grade school and
high school. Their parents were close friends.

Marcelo alleged that President Arroyo called him to stop lobbying for the
franchise and that the three of them—the First Couple and Marcelo—will
establish their own company. Marcelo turned down the offer.

The president did not recall her veto of both bills. Arroyo also said that the First
Gentleman never asked her to recall the veto. Her husband denied receiving any
money and claimed that Rodrigo was the one who received the bribe. Rodrigo
later retracted her allegations in the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing.

PCSO funds for admin candidates’ campaign

In October 2001, Roberto Rivero, former consultant of the Philippine Charity

Sweepstakes (PCSO), claimed that the first gentleman used almost $5 million of
PCSO funds to finance the campaign of some senatorial candidates and to bribe
radio commentators. President Arroyo asked the Office of the Ombudsman to
investigate her husband. The PCSO denied Rivero’s accusations. When asked
by the Ombudsman for evidence, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who exposed this, was
unable to present any.
Years later, in May 2007, another former PCSO senior executive, Cirilo Avila,
said the funds were made to appear as payment for ad placements but were
really used as People Power Coalition (PPC) campaign funds. Avila narrated that
the PPC requested the funds and manager Ver Angelo took it up with the board.
The request was approved.

Nani Perez’s ‘extortion’

Four days after assuming office, Arroyo awarded a $470-million contract to

Argentine firm Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Sociedad Anonima (IMPSA)
to rehabilitate a power plant in Laguna. A few months later, former Manila
Representative Mark Jimenez, the man who brokered the deal, accused Justice
Secretary Hernando Perez of extorting $2 million in exchange for a justice
department opinion that favors the deal. Jimenez told Senator Lacson that the
entire amount was actually $14 million: Perez received $2 million, the National
Power Corporation “boys” got $1 million, Malacañang was given $4, and $7
million went to Jimenez. In April 2008, the office of the Ombudsman, headed by
Merceditas Gutierrez, filed graft charges against Perez, his wife Rosario, Ernest
Escaler, and Ramon Antonio Arceo Jr. But the graft and robbery charges were
junked by the Sandiganbayan in November 2008 as the Ombudsman failed to
expedite the complaints, making Perez immune from the charges, indirectly
acquitting Perez.Perez’s pending case with the Sandiganbayan is on his
falsification of public documents.

In May 2009, Perez filed his third petition asking the Sandiganbayan to dismiss
the charges of unethical practices filed against him for allegedly not declaring
$1.7 million in his 2001 Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth
(SALN) saying that Arroyo herself approved his SALN when she assumed office.
Perez was then a member of her cabinet.

The godmother’s ties to the Pinedas

President Arroyo agreed to be the godmother of alleged jueteng boss Bong

Pineda’s son. In an interview with Time, she said that she sought advice from
Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin who said, “The sins of the father are not
the sins of the son.”

Later events revealed the nature of Arroyo’s ties to the Pinedas. In 2005, during
the height of the Senate probe on the “Hello Garci” scandal, Army Capt. Marlon
Mendoza quoted Virgillio Garcillano and said Pineda gave P300 million to fund
Arroyo’s presidential bid in 2004.

Another witness, Michaelangelo Zuce, nephew of Garcillano claimed that

Pineda’s wife, Lilia Pineda, handed out envelopes containing P30,000 each in
January 2004 during a party hosted by the president in her La Vista home in
Quezon City.

Profit from anti-poverty bonds?

Conceptualized by the Caucus of Development (Code-NGO), the PEACe bonds

(Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates) were issued by the government
supposedly to help raise funds for the anti-poverty activities of its member
organizations. But there were allegations that Code-NGO used its political
connections to profit P1.4 billion in a series of transactions from the PEACe
bonds worth P35 billion pesos.

Code-NGO was chaired by Socorro Camacho-Reyes, sister of then Finance

Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho. Camacho-Reyes denied, in a Senate hearing,
that her brother helped him.

Silencing the Marines

Rear Adm. Guillermo Wong, then Flag Officer in Command of the Philippine
Navy, exposed irregularities in the Philippine Marines’ procurement of
equipment worth P3.8 million.

This did not sit well with Marine officials. Then Armed Forces chief of staff
Angelo Reyes offered Wong another post, chief of the Northern Command,
practically demoting him. This forced Wong to resign.
When asked to comment, President Arroyo said Reyes had done “the right
thing.” Fresh from retirement, Reyes was immediately appointed defense
secretary.

A foul deal

In 2007, the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC, formerly

Construction Development Corporation of the Philippines or CDCP) and
Radstock Securities signed a compromise agreement obliging the PNCC to pay
Radstock P6.2 billion in the form of: 19 pieces of real estate properties; 20% of
the outstanding capital stock of PNCC; and 50% of PNCC’s share in the gross
toll revenue of the Manila North Tollways Corporation for 27 years.

Senators Sergio Osmena III and Franklin Drilon cried foul because it disposed
of almost all the assets of PNCC, a company acquired by the government after
President Marcos forced government financial institutions to exchange debt
owed to them by the company for stocks.

The deal, they said, gave Marubeni/Radstock preferential treatment over other
bigger creditors, particularly government. As of December 2002, the PNCC owed
the government through the Assets Privatization Trust P41.39 billion, according
to the Commission on Audit, and has pending liabilities amounting to P6.9
billion, a bulk of which was from the Philippine government.

2002

Overpriced Macapagal Boulevard

Sulpicio Tagud Jr., then board director of the Public Estates Authority (PEA),
exposed the P600-million overprice of the construction of the GSIS-funded 5.1-
kilometer President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in the Manila Bay
reclamation area. The contracts were approved during the Estrada
administration and were given to three companies: Shoemart Inc., DM
Wenceslao, and Jesusito D. Legaspi Construction (JDLC).

A series of supplemental contracts with JDLC were later approved by the PEA
board under the Arroyo administration that increased the original approved
cost of their section of the highway. According to Tagud, while the SM group of
companies constructed its part of the boulevard at P54,000 per lineal meter,
JDLC built its section at P302,000 per lineal meter.

Arroyo asked PEA and the Government Service Insurance System officials to
submit a full report on the project to Presidential Legal Counsel Avelino Cruz.
After the the report was submitted, Arroyo asked the entire PEA board to go on
leave until the Presidential Anti-graft Commission submitted the results of its
investigation.

In February 2008, the Sandiganbayan said it will continue the probe on JDLC
despite the firm’s motion to dismiss the alleged overpricing of the boulevard.

The garbage contract

The Jancom controversy involved a $360-million (P18 billion) incineration

project in which the Jancom Environment Corp. (JEC) would burn 3,000 tons
of Metro Manila garbage a day for a tipping fee of $10 per ton. During his term,
President Ramos did not approve the contract and President Estrada likewise
debunked it because JEC raised the tipping fee from $10 to $59 per ton.

Despite the passage of the Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act (both banned the use of incarcerators) , the Supreme Court
declared the contract valid in April 2002 in a decision penned by Justice Jose
Melo.

Still, Arroyo said the deal had many flaws. Arroyo passed the decision to the
Manila Metropolitan and Development Authority (MMDA) to decide whether the
deal is disadvantageous to the government or not. Although negotiations had
started between the MMDA and Jancom, Arroyo called off the deal in April
2002.

Mismanaged funds

Issues on mismanaged funds by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming

Corporation (PAGCOR) and the GSIS caught the public eye in 2002. PAGCOR
had been experiencing negative cash flows that bloated to P850 million in 2003.
A Pagcor manager gave three reasons behind the financial difficulties: ‘onerous’
contracts, profligate spending, and massive, mindless donations.

GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia ordered its units to stop
the processing of claims and loan applications because of financial difficulty.
The Kapisanan ng Manggagawa attributed the financial problems to the
following: Garcia’s cash advances amounting to P3.4 million, the establishment
of district offices worth P4 million each, and the appointment of outside legal
counsel for P200,000 a month.

Garcia allegedly used GSIS money to purchase Juan Luna’s Parisian Life
painting. Likewise, Garcia was said to earn P540,000 a month and appointed
some 130 vice-presidents who earn P70,000 a month. There were allegations
that GSIS contributed at least P100 million to the campaign funds of Pres.
Arroyo. Garcia was retained in his post despite appeals from GSIS employees.

In 2004, before the Senate committee on government corporations and public

enterprises, Garcia dismissed the charges and said GSIS is “the country’s top
performing government-owned and controlled corporation.” He did not comment
on the Juan Luna paintings.

FG as OFW envoy

In December, President Arroyo designated Mike Arroyo as an OFW envoy so he

could represent her in the countries she could not visit. However, critics
assailed Arroyo’s announcement when they learned that his activities as OFW
envoy would be funded by a proposed overseas workers legal assistance fund.
They feared that the Arroyo couple would use the funds for her 2004 campaign.
While the President did not recall her husband’s designation, the First
Gentleman voluntarily resigned.

Naia’s Terminal 3

In 2002, Transportation Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez obtained overpriced

subcontracts for public works projects related to the terminal. Among these is
Wintrack Builders Inc., owned by Alvarez, which bagged a site-development
project.

Piatco was also accused of paying huge sums of money to Alfonso S. Liongson,
PR consultant and said to be an associate of the First Gentleman, for permits or
supplementary agreements to the contract. In 2003, Arroyo revoked Piatco’s
build-operate- transfer contract and the government took over the airport in
2004. After almost a decade, the airport was partially opened in 2008.

2003

Rotten rice!

In February 2003, Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla revealed that 600,000
metric tons of rice imported from India were found to be rotten and moldy.
Kishore Hemlani, an Indian trader allegedly close to Arroyo, reportedly bagged
the P9.5 billion contract for the rice importation.

Anthony Abad, head of the National Food Authority, had to dispose of some
P2.2-million worth of moldy rice stocks and tried to dispose of the remaining
sacks in order to recover at least P2.5 billion.

Undeclared wealth in San Francisco

Since she got elected in 1992 as senator, Arroyo had failed to declare in her
Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth the properties her husband
Mike Arroyo bought in San Francisco through his California-based LTA Realty
Corporation. According to Newsbreak, Mike acquired, resold, and managed at
least five properties with a total value of at least $7.1 million in the Bay City
from 1992 to 2000. The First Couple said the properties were bought in trust
for Ignacio or Iggy Arroyo, Mike’s younger brother.

Mikey Arroyo’s imported horses

In August, news broke out that presidential son Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo
planned to import 32 thoroughbred horses from Melbourne, Australia worth
P384 million (at P12 million per horse). Mikey denied the allegation but
admitted that he was in the horse-trade business.

He owns Franchino Farms along with cousin Franchino Pamintuan and friend
Ralph Mondragon. (We requested for Mikey’s SALN but it has not been granted
as of press time.)

Jose Pidal accounts

In August, opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson accused First Gentleman Jose Miguel
Arroyo of money laundering: he allegedly siphoned off at least P321 million in
campaign funds and contributions and put these in a secret bank account
under the name Jose Pidal. He also supposedly used the names of his aides in
three other accounts. According to Lacson, among the donors was then Rep.
Mark Jimenez who gave P8 million. Arroyo’s younger brother, Iggy, came
forward and admitted he is Jose Pidal.

Oakwood mutiny

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes’ alleged involvement in selling arms and

ammunitions to guerilla and bandit groups moved 300 young officers and
enlisted men of the AFP to rebel against the government in July. Reyes was
forced to resign a few weeks later. The rebel soldiers were detained.
The 321 armed soldiers apologized for the failed rebellion. In 2004, 133 of the
soldiers were freed. Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, one of the alleged leaders, escaped
in December 2005. Four other leaders escaped after Faeldon did. Faeldon was
captured in 2007 but escaped again a few months after.

Reyes, since then, has held other Cabinet posts: environment secretary and
energy secretary.

Congress vs. Supreme Court

The clash of the two co-equal bodies was all about the billions of pesos in
Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) and how it was spent. The Nationalist
People’s Coalition (NPC) and its allies in Congress, peeved that they were being
ignored by the Supreme Court, went after Chief Justice Hilario Davide. They
almost impeached him.

President Arroyo acted on the controversy only when it reached crisis

proportions. She was balancing between competing interests: her political
support from Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco’s NPC and Davide’s tenure on the
Court.

2004

The super-rich general

In December, Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia’s son was apprehended by US

Customs officials at the San Francisco airport for carrying $100,000 in
undeclared cash. AFP Chief of Staff Narciso Abaya asked Garcia to explain and
transferred him to another position.

Later in the year, US Customs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation

transmitted to the office of Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo a list of the amounts
that General Garcia had brought into the US from 1993 to 2003, which was
estimated at P71 million.
In October 2004, Garcia was charged with violating Articles of War 95 (conduct
unbecoming of an officer and gentleman) and 96 (acts prejudicial to good order
and military discipline) for failing to declare all his assets in his Statement of
Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and for possessing a US green card. In April
2006, the military court sentenced Garcia to a two-year confinement without
pay and allowance and dishonorable discharge. Garcia also faced graft charges
in the same court.

In February 2009, Garcia’s sons, Juan Pablo and Ian Carl were indicted in the
US with one count of conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling, failing to file a
report of monetary instruments, and making false statements to a US
government agency. The sons were placed in US custody until proven innocent.
On the same month, Garcia was found guilty of misdeclaring his assets and
liabilities in 2000. He was acquitted from two other perjury cases.

On June 2009, the Sandiganbayan acquitted Garcia of the last perjury case,
saying there was no proof that the retired general lied in his 1997 SALN.
However, the retired general is still facing plunder and forfeiture cases in the
Sandiganbayan and is still being detained in Camp Crame.

No bidding for Northrail

The Northrail project started during Ramos’s administration but it was only in
February 2004 when Finance Secretary Juanita Amatong entered into a credit
loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China. The agreement granted
the Philippine government a $400-million loan facility to finance the
construction of the project.

Critics said the interest rate on the loan per annum (3%) is much higher than
the rate on other loan packages that the Philippines could have availed itself of.
China National Machinery and Equipment Corporation was designated as the
prime contractor for the project without public bidding. The Senate probed the
issue but the hearings were stalled in 2005 after Malacañang issued EO 464,
requiring Cabinet members to seek presidential clearance before they could
testify in congressional hearings.
Fertilizer fund scam

The controversy started when President Arroyo was accused of using fertilizer
funds for the 2004 election. The fund, worth P728 million, fell under the
Ginintuang Masagana Ani Program. Jocelyn Bolante, agriculture
undersecretary and regarded as the architect of the fund, left the country and
sought asylum in America. He came back to the country in 2008 and faced the
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

Bolante told the Senate that (1) he does not know who nominated or
recommended him to be an agriculture undersecretary, (2) it was former
Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo who requested the release of the funds, (3)
the fertilizer fund was valid and legal and was approved by the DA, and that (4)
when he left the department in August 2004, 91% of the fertilizer funds had
been liquidated already.

The committee recommended the filing of plunder and other criminal case
against him and nine other persons but no case was filed. In January 2009, the
panel who investigated the fertilizer fund scam submitted the proposed
resolution to Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

No reports on the investigation have been released from both the Ombudsman
and the justice department. In March 2009, Bolante disclosed a plan to run
either as governor or congressman in Capiz, Roxas.

Philhealth cards for campaign

Six weeks before the May 2004 elections, two lawyers filed a disqualification
case against President Arroyo, saying she was behind the enhanced Philippine
Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Greater Medicare Access or GMA program. Public
funds were allegedly spent to enroll families in PhilHealth for one year. The
premium cost of P1,200 for each family member was chargeable to PhilHealth
and the PCSO. The IDs, bearing Arroyo’s picture and name, were coincidentally
distributed during the start of the election campaign.
2005

Hello, Garci

More than a year after the election, a recording of a telephone conversation

between President Arroyo and election commissioner Virgilio “Garci” Garcillano
was released to the public. In this conversation, Arroyo directed him to make
sure she wins by one million votes. After weeks of ducking the issue, Arroyo
apologized for “a lapse in judgment” in talking with an election commissioner
but explained that she merely wanted to protect her votes.

Hyatt 10

Eight cabinet members and two bureau heads, called the Hyatt 10, filed their
irrevocable resignations in the aftermath of the “Hello, Garci” scandal and
requested Arroyo to resign. The Hyatt 10 is composed of Secretaries Florencio
Abad (education), Juan Santos (trade and industry), Emilia Boncodin (budget
and management), Cesar Purisima (finance), Dinky Soliman (social welfare and
development) , Rene Villa (land reform), Alberto Lina (customs), Guillermo
Parayno (internal revenues), Teresita Quintos Deles (adviser on the peace
process), and Imelda Nicolas of the national anti-poverty commission.

Juetengate

In Senate hearings on jueteng that began in May 2005, jueteng operators and
bagmen said the President’s husband, Mike, her son Mikey, and her brother-in-
law Ignacio or Iggy were among those who received monthly payoffs from
gambling lords. The payoffs ranged from P500,000 to P1 million.

One of the key witnesses, businesswoman Sandra Cam, testified that in

December 2004, she personally delivered the cash to Mikey and Iggy at the
House of Representatives; the money came from retired Chief Supt. Restituto
Mosqueda, former police director for Bicol and alleged protector of jueteng
operations in Luzon.
Richard Garcia and Demosthenes Abraham Riva also told a Senate hearing that
the three Arroyos had been receiving payola from jueteng operations in Bicol.
Michaelangelo Zuce, an aide of former commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and a
former staff member of presidential adviser on political affairs Joey Rufino,
directly linked the President to jueteng by saying that before the 2004 elections,
the President distributed money to several election officials in her house in La
Vista, Quezon City, in the presence of Bong Pineda’s wife, Lilia Pineda.

Garcia and Riva retracted their statements a few months later and said they
were merely “coached” by Sen. Panfilo Lacson. Zuce’s testimony failed to take
off after one witness did not corroborate Zuce’s claim. Former Isabela Gov.
Faustino Dy Jr. who was also said to have been present at the La Vista meeting,
flew to the US and refused to come to Manila to testify.

Aragoncillo, the spy

Leandro Aragoncillo, a Filipino American in the US Federal Bureau of

Investigation, was arrested for allegedly taking classified documents from
computers in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office and the FBI and sending them
to opposition leaders in the Philippines. The documents were primarily analyses
of the Philippines’ political situation by US Embassy officials.

Among others, the documents said that: “Arroyo has always exhibited paranoia
and the need to control every aspect of the Philippine economy and politics. As
time ticked out for her administration, it was clear the biggest problem was
Arroyo herself.”

Aragoncillo was charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government or

official and faces up to 25 years in prison.

Mega-anomaly in Comelec

According to Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo, the botched P1.3 billion poll
modernization project of Comelec was overpriced by P500 million. Comelec
ignored its own bidding rules and changed these to suit one favored bidder:
MegaPacific Corp.

The SC deemed the process flawed and declared the contract null and void. The
Office of the Ombudsman committee created by Ombudsman Merceditas
Gutierrez initially indicted Commissioner Resurreccion Borra but cleared him a
few months later. Abalos and company were ruled to be not liable for the voided
contract.

Lozano’s complaints

Oliver Lozano filled an impeachment complaint against President Arroyo during

the height of the “Hello, Garci” scandal. Congress declared the complaint to be
technically deficient. Oliver Lozano filed another impeachment complaint
against President Arroyo on 2006. Like the first one, his second complaint was
defeated due to insufficiency in substance.

For the third time, Lozano filed his impeachment complaint against the
President on 2007. Like the second version, this impeachment rap was
dismissed for insufficiency in substance. Critics say Lozano’s impeachment
complaints were moves to hinder the submission of a solid complaint against
the President.

Weeks after former Arroyo ally Jose De Venecia filed his impeachment
complaint in 2008, Lozano took his fourth try with a four-page impeachment
complaint penned with his daughter, Atty Evangeline Lozano, and another
lawyer, Elly Pamatong.

Imelda’s jewelries

Former First Lady Imelda Marcos asked a Manila court to stop a Philippine
Commission on Good Government auction of her P15-billion jewelries. Marcos
claimed the jewelries belonged solely to her. No restraining order was issued by
the court.
The PCGG has two of the three jewelry collections in the vaults of the Bangko
Sentral ng Philipinas and planned to auction off majority of the jewelries in May
2009, with strong resistance from Mrs. Marcos.

2006

FG in $20,000 hotel suite!

During Manny Pacquiao’s match with Erick Morales in Las Vegas, the First
Gentleman allegedly stayed in a $20,000-a-night suite at the MGM Grand Hotel
in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mike said that there was nothing corrupt about accepting
the free luxury suite offered to him by the hotel. He argued that as the husband
of a head of state, he was entitled to such perks.

No German bank account

Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano claimed that a member of the Arroyo family
maintained a bank account in Germany amounting to hundreds of millions of
dollars. First Gentleman Arroyo flew to Germany and secured a certification
from the bank to disprove Cayetano’s claims. Upon his return, he sought
Cayetano’s expulsion from Congress but without success.

Toxic JPEPA?

The Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) was signed

between Arroyo and former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The
treaty aimed to promote investments and trade between the two countries.
Various civil society groups contested the agreement because the government
did not consult them. According to these groups, although the agreement
secures employment in Japan, the treaty includes an “environmentally unjust
bilateral trade.”

In 2008, the Senate finally ratified the agreement by a vote of 16-4 as the
agreement was favorable since 95% of exports from the Philippines to Japan
will have zero duties.
Meanwhile, numerous representatives from the House questioned the Senate
decision as the agreement “will bring a tsunami of unfair trade and toxic
wastes.”

2007

Estrada pardon

After spending six years in detention for plunder and graft and corruption
charges, former President Estrada was sentenced to life imprisonment by the
Sandiganbayan in October 2007. Three days after, President Arroyo granted
him pardon citing a policy to release prisoners aged 70.

Fallout from ZTE

The scandal was exposed in August 2007, a few months after Transport
Secretary Leandro Mendoza and ZTE Corp Vice President Yu Yong signed a
$329.5 million contact for a national broadband network deal in April.
President Arroyo and the First Gentlemen were said to have visited China for
the contract-signing.

Rep. Carlos Padilla (Nueva Vizcaya) said that Comelec chairperson Benjamin
Abalos also joined the President in China to broker the deal. Abalos denied
brokering the deal but admitted going to China four times. In September 2007,
the son of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr testified that he was with Abalos in
China and that Abalos demanded money from ZTE officials.

The following day, the Supreme Court promulgated a TRO stopping the deal
between the Philippines and China and gave ZTE 15 days to comment.

NEDA chair Romulo Neri testified in the Senate hearings and said Abalos tried
to bribe him with P200 million but he refused to answer some senators’
questions, citing executive privilege. Abalos resigned as Comelec chair in
October 2007 as President Arroyo cancelled the deal in a trip to China.
Jun Lozada, former chief executive officer of Philippine Forest Corporation and
NEDA consultant, testified in February 2008 that Abalos and the First
Gentlemen were to receive kickbacks once the deal was signed. Speaker Jose de
Venecia was unseated and got dragged into the deal when his son said he was
also in China.

On July 2008, the SC dismissed three petitions that question the

constitutionality of the deal and declared it moot and academic.

Impeachment: Pulido’s version

Lawyer Roel Pulido filed an impeachment complaint against President Arroyo.

Endorsed by an administration ally, Laguna Rep. Edgar San Luis, it was seen
as a move to foil another complaint against the President.

Congress thrashed the complaint.

Money from Malacañang

Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio revealed that he was given a paper bag
containing P500,000 in a Malacañang meeting in October 2007. The money was
allegedly for community projects. The bags were handed out by a female
Malacañang staff. Panlilio said he accepted the money because because no
conditions were attached; he did not consider it a bribe. Various versions of the
source of the money came out as other local officials present in the meeting
admitted receiving either P500,000 or P200,000.

Other officials who confirmed receiving money were Governors Joselito

Mendoza, Leo Campos, and Representatives Rachel Arenas, Antonio Cuenco,
Bienvenido Abante, Mauricio Domogan, Tomas Dumpit Jr, and some others
who refused to be named. The named 9 officials were charged by the Office of
the Ombudsman for allegedly receiving bribes. Due to numerous versions on
the source of the money, Sen. Miguel Zubiri said during the Senate Blue Ribbon
Committee hearing that the money has no direct link to the Palace.

Glorietta 2 and Batasan bombings

After the string of controversies hounding the Arroyo administration, bombing

incidents happened in Glorietta 2 and the House of Representatives. The police,
in a speedy investigation, found that the bombing of Batasan was initially
intended for Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar.

The Glorietta 2 bombing, on the other hand, resulted from gas leakage. Rumors
spread that the bombings were perpetrated by the government to divert the
public’s attention away from the Arroyo scandals.

The Batasan bombing happened the day before Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio was
set to testify on the bribery of local officials in the Senate and a day before the
House justice committee was to hear the impeachment case.

The Glorietta 2 bombing happened during the height of the bribery case which
took place in Malacañang.

Manila Pen siege

Antonio Trillanes IV, together with Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and 25 other Magdalo
officers walked out of their trial and marched on the streets of Makati City.
Former Vice-President Teofisto Guingona and some soldiers from the AFP joined
the march that ended in Peninsula Manila Hotel. After several hours, the group
surrendered to the government forces after a military assault. They were
arrested and several journalists were detained.

Missing: Jonas Burgos

Of the numerous human rights violations, political killings, and abductions
during Arroyo’s administration, the case of activist Jonas Burgos has become
the most prominent. Burgos was missing since late April and eyewitnesses said
he was dragged from a mall in Commonwealth to a Toyota Revo by five men.
The license plate of the Revo was traced to the 56th Infantry Battalion camp in
Bulacan.

2008

Teehankee pardon

In 1991, Claudio Teehankee Jr was sentenced to life imprisonment after being

found guilty of killing Maureen Hultman, John Roland Chapman, and
wounding Jussi Leino. Last November 2008, President Arroyo granted
Teehankee pardon. It was reported that the Hultmans “approved” the pardon
and received a settlement of P6 million. The Hultmans were enraged that the
pardon was “kept secret” and denied receiving the money.

Euro generals

In an Interpol conference in Moscow, police comptroller director Eliseo De la Paz

and his group were detained because of carrying undeclared cash worth
105,000 euros (P6.9 million). At the time of the conference, De la Paz had
already retired from service.

When the group returned, the Senate called for hearings on the issue. De la Paz
said the money was “cash advance” for “emergency cases.” His statement was
questioned as PNP Chief Jesus Versoza said the money was for purchasing
intelligence equipment.

The Senate recommended that the justice department and the Ombudsman
conduct a preliminary investigation on the PNP delegates to the Interpol
assembly as the group violated the travel ban under Administrative Order No.
103, the law on allowable travel expenses, and the rule on retired officials or
those about to retire. The report also proposed a preliminary investigation on
interior and local government chief Reynato Puno and Versoza for allowing the
group to travel and for ignoring the travel ban.

As of March 2009, De la Paz settled the remaining 65,000 euros, fully paying for
the cash advance and avoiding a civil law suit.

C-5 insertion

Senators Panfilo Lacson and Jamby Madrigal spilled the beans on Senate
president Manny Villar when they exposed his double insertion of a P200
million C-5 project in the 2008 budget. After a few months, Villar resigned as
Senate president when he learned about the planned “ouster” led by Lacson.
Enrile became Senate president.

In May 2009, although Villar was out of the country, the Senate ethics
committee deliberated on the alleged C-5 insertion and declared the ethics
complaint filed by Madrigal as sufficient in substance.

Meralco and the tainted court

What started out as a tug-of-war between the Lopezes and GSIS over control of
Meralco ended up tainting the reputation of the Court of Appeals. The scandal
started when Justice Jose Sabio Jr told the media that he was offered a P10
million bribe by an alleged Meralco emissary, businessman Francis Borja.

The Supreme Court conducted a public investigation on the CA justices. Lapses

in the justices’ decisions and CA procedures were unearthed. The verdict:
Justice Vicente Roxas was dismissed, Sabio and Justice Bienvenido Reyes were
suspended, and Justice Myrna Vidal was reprimanded.

Impeachment: Joey’s complaint

Joey de Venecia, son of former House Speaker Jose De Venecia, filed an

impeachment complaint against President Arroyo, particularly because of the
overpriced NBN-ZTE broadband deal. The complaint was found sufficient in
form but was dismissed after House representatives voted 42-8, ruling the
complaint as insufficient in substance.

Resurrecting nuke power plant

Tarlac Rep. Mark Cojuangco and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo
filed HB 4631 or the Bataan nuclear power plant commissioning act, a bill
aimed at rehabilitating the mothballed power plant for $1.4 billion. Various
groups were strongly against the re-opening of the plant, stating that more
viable and cheaper options are available like renewable energy. A feasibility
study was requested from Cojuangco to prove that BNPP’s structures are still in
good condition. A consolidated HB 6300 was submitted to the House and will be
deliberated after the legislative break in July.

The failed ancestral domain agreement

In June 2001, President Arroyo signed the GRP-MILF Tripoli agreement in

Libya, paving the way for peace talks between the government of the Philippines
and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. By May 2003, due to numerous
bombings in Mindanao, Arroyo canceled the peace talks. Talks resumed two
months later in Kuala Lumpur.

In January 2004, peace monitors from Malaysia, Brunei, and Libya went to
Mindanao to monitor the five-year truce between the two parties. The
discussion on ancestral domain progressed and was divided into four strands:
concept, territory, resources, and governance.

By November 2007, government panel chair Rodolfo Garcia and MILF peace
panel chair Mohagher Iqbal said that the agreement can finally be concluded.
But by December of the same year, the ancestral domain negotiations reached a
deadlock due to constitutional issues.
The text of the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD)
caused a big stir when it leaked to the press. On August 2008, the Supreme
Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on the peace agreement and
suggested renegotiating the homeland deal.

In September 2008, the government dissolved the panel conducting the peace
negotiations with the MILF, formed a new one, and announced that negotiations
will depend on whether the MILF will turn over two rogue field commanders and
other members who attacked North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, and other
provinces in Mindanao. The peace talks were set to resume in 2009.

2009

Red Cross kidnapping

On January, gunmen on motorcycles intercepted an International Committee of

the Red Cross vehicle and kidnapped three workers: Italian Eugenio Vagni,
Swiss Andreas Notter, and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba. The group behind it,
identified as the Abu Sayyaf, asked for ransom. The Philippine Red Cross,
under Sen. Richard Gordon, refused to pay the ransom. The group threatened
to behead the workers.

Three months after the kidnapping, after numerous negotiations, Lacaba was
released. A few days after, Notter was released as well. Vagni, after six months
of being held captive, was eventually released July 12.

Con Ass

In 2005, Arroyo initiated a move to change the Constitution and transform the
present presidential- bicameral republic into a parliamentary- unicameral form
of government but failed.
By late 2006, the House shelved a plan to revise the Constitution through a
constituent assembly. In June 2009, two days before the House adjourned, they
passed HR Bill 1109. The bill calls for a Constituent Assembly to amend the
1986 Constitution.

Dacer-Corbito double murder case

After spending years in America, Cesar Mancao returned and was willing to
speak out on the murder of publicist Bubby Dacer and his driver Emmanuel
Corbito in 2000. Mancao became a state witness in July 2009.

Aside from Mancao, 21 others were accused of the same charges. According to
Mancao, he is no longer afraid of anyone, particularly of Sen. Panfilo Lacson,
who consequently denied having a hand in the crime.

Dacer was asked by former President Estrada to boost his image during the
height of the BW scam and the latter’s impeachment trial. The publicist was
said to have knowledge of BW Resources Corp, a gaming firm in which Estrada
owned shares. The scam started when it was found out that BW won an
exclusive contract to operate on-line bingo and introduce Quick Pick-2 in 1999,
a game similar to jueteng. On that same year, PAGCOR granted BW a
nationwide online bingo franchise. Further investigation revealed that Dante
Tan, Estrada’s alleged financier during the latter’s presidential bid, had been
heavily buying shares in BW.

In late 2000, the charred bodies of Dacer and his driver were found in a creek
in Cavite and eyewitnesses said they were abducted and killed by policemen.
Some of the witnesses pointed to Estrada as the mastermind of the killing
through Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force chief Lacson.

CARP extension

A few days before the House’s legislative break, the body passed House Bill
4077 to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law for another five years.
The House appropriated P100 billion for land acquisition and distribution,
support services, and other funding requirements. The Senate has also
approved its own version of the bill.

In 2007, Arroyo certified an urgent bill to extend the law. The program has yet
to distribute a million hectares to another two million beneficiaries.

RH bill

In June, the controversial House Bill 5043 or reproductive health bill was
trashed in the House of Representatives, as it failed to gather enough votes from
the lawmakers. The bill was penned by Cong. Edcel Lagman and it advocates,
among others, the use of government funds to provide free contraceptives to the
poor. The bill reached the plenary on 2008 and has since been under fire from
various groups, particularly those with the Catholic Church.

Right of reply bill

The controversial Right of Reply bill (RORB) failed to gather enough signatures
and was not passed in the House. Since it was filed last year, numerous groups,
especially from media organizations, have contested the passing of the bill.

In February, seven senators reiterated their support for the bill. Arroyo, on the
other hand, assured journalists while the bill was being deliberated in the
House that she will not hesitate to trash it should it contain provisions that will
curtail press freedom.

Baselines bill

In March, Arroyo signed Republic Act 9522 or the Philippine Archipelagic

Baselines law, a controversial law that defines the country’s baselines and
claims in the South China Sea. The bill includes the Kalayaan Group of Islands
and Scarborough Shoal as parts of “regime of islands.” The other countries who
have been claiming the islands are China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.
Misuse of Balikatan funds

Navy Lt. Nancy Gadian revealed an alleged malversation of funds in the 2007
Balikatan joint military exercises with the United States. According to Gadian,
Gen. Eugenio Cedo, former Mindanao Command head, pocketed P2.3 million of
the money and the rest were pocketed by other higher Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) officials. The Balikatan exercises were given a P4.6 million
fund.

Arroyo ordered the defense department to investigate Gadian’s allegations. Lt.

Col. Romeo Brawner Jr, AFP public information officer chief, said the alleged
malversed funds were properly accounted for in the Commission on Audit
reports. He also challenged Gadian to come out and file a proper complaint.

GMA in Congress?

Due to rumors that Arroyo is planning to run for Congress, election lawyers
clarified that there are no provisions that prohibit Arroyo from resigning as
president if she runs for a lower post. They cite Sec. 67 of the Omnibus Election
Code which was repealed in the Fair Elections Act passed in 2001, Arroyo’s first
year as president after Edsa 2.

The Code states that “any elective official, whether national or local, running for
any office other than the one which he is holding in a permanent capacity,
except for President and Vice-President, shall be considered ipso facto resigned
from his office upon the filing of his certificate of candidacy.”

Helicopter crash

In April 2009, a helicopter carrying eight passengers, two of whom were Cabinet
undersecretaries and a senior military aide, crashed in the Ifugao region. The
Philippine Air Force (PAF) blamed bad weather for the accident.
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, chair of the senate committee on national defense and
security, questioned why the helicopter was allowed to fly from Loakan Airport
in Baguio in the afternoon when visibility was low and why there was no back-
up helicopter provided at the time. There were allegations that the helicopter
was delayed for three hours because it was used to ferry Congressman Mikey
Arroyo, the president’s eldest son, from Manila to Baguio.

According to press Secretary Cerge Remonde, the helicopter indeed carried

Mikey and the others from Manila and arrived in Baguio at past two in the
afternoon, ahead of the other helicopter which carried Arroyo and her party.
The same helicopter Mikey used was the same helicopter used by the eight
passengers who were supposed to conduct an ocular inspection of the Halsema
Highway; Arroyo was scheduled to visit this highway the next day.

EXPOSE

What is the ZTE NBN deal? It is a $ 329 million loan from the China Export and
Import Bank to finance the infrastructure project between the Philippine
Government and the China-based Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment
Company Limited (ZTE). The said project aims to develop a telecommunications
infrastructure that will deliver voice, data, and internet services to all
government offices and municipalities nationwide. However, the said project
encountered serious accusations of fraud, bribery and other anomalies forcing
the Arroyo Government to suspend it “indefinitely” last September 22, 2007.
But due to the public's continued and strong outcry over the project, Mrs.
Arroyo was forced to cancel the ZTE deal last October 2, 2007.

What is the participation of the Arroyo Government in this controversy? It was

alleged that powerful people close to Mrs. Arroyo brokered the deal in favor of
the ZTE Corp. Original whistle-blower Jose "Joey" De Venecia III, son of Rep.
Jose De Venecia Jr. exposed the huge overpricing and kickbacks involved in the
deal in a Senate inquiry which started last year. Joey De Venecia is the owner of
Amsterdam Holdings, Inc. (AHI), which lost the bid for the NBN project to ZTE.
First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo was named by the young De Venecia as the
individual who personally bullied the latter and his company into abandoning
their proposal for the national broadband network project in order to give way
to China's ZTE Corp. It was alleged that FG Mike Arroyo pointed a finger at Joey
De Venecia and told him to “back off” from the deal. FG Mike Arroyo
immediately went abroad at the height of the controversy, raising suspicion that
he is consciously avoiding the scandal.

“Former Commission on Election Chairman Benjamin Abalos, a close ally and

friend of Mrs. Arroyo was said to have brokered the deal in favor of ZTE. Abalos
reportedly went to China several times in 2007, allegedly enjoying “sexcapades”
in plush hotels hosted by ZTE officials. Abalos admitted going to China last year
—during the height of the electoral campaign. He also admitted his close
association with some ZTE officials. In a Senate inquiry last year, former
National Economic and Development Authority Director General Romulo Neri,
accused Abalos of offering him a P 200 million bribe just to endorse the ZTE
contract. Neri purportedly refused the offer and laughed off the bribe. However,
he reversed his earlier recommendations questioning the deal.

Former Philippine Forest CEO Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, the second whistle-blower
who was reportedly abducted by Malacañang's security group accused Abalos of
“protecting” his $130 million kickback. The money was reportedly given by ZTE
officials to Abalos in order to secure the NBN deal with the Philippine
Government. It was alleged that the ZTE-NBN deal was Malacañang's “gift” to
Abalos because of the “important role” he played during the highly questionable
2004 Presidential elections.

COUP D’ E’TAT

On Friday, February 24, 2006, an alleged coup d'état plot was uncovered in the
Philippines, headed by Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim.
The declaration of Proclamation No. 1017 gave Gloria Macapagal Arroyo the
power to issue warrantless (and until then unconstitutional) arrests and to take
over private institutions that run public utilities.

The President, through the Department of Education, suspended classes in

elementary and high school levels. In response, colleges and universities
suspended classes. By virtue of PP 1017, she declared a State of Emergency for
the whole country in an attempt to quell rebellion as her grip on power began to
slip, to stop lawless violence and promote peace and stability. The government's
first move after the declaration was to disperse demonstrators, particularly the
groups picketing along EDSA. Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino was
among those that protested, along with leftist and extreme right activists. A
number of public figures were reported to have been arrested.

After the foiling of the plot and the dispersal of the rallies, PP 1017 continued
for a week on threats of military plots (such as the military stand-off of
February 26 at Fort Bonifacio headed by Col. Ariel Querubin), violence, illegal
rallies and public disturbance.

Six leftist representatives - Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casiño, and Joel Virador of
Bayan Muna, Liza Maza of GABRIELA, and Crispin Beltran and Rafael Mariano
of Anakpawis - were charged with rebellion. Crispin Beltran of Anakpawis was
arrested on February 25 on charges of inciting to sedition and rebellion. To
avoid further arrest, the other five found shelter at the Batasan Complex.

On Saturday, February 25, the office of the Daily Tribune, a newspaper known
as a hard-hitting critic of the Arroyo administration, was raided. After the raid,
an issuance of Journalism Guideline followed, authored by the government in
order to cope with the "present abnormal situation", according to then Chief of
Staff Michael Defensor. The move to suppress freedom of the press against the
Daily Tribune was criticized by Reporters Without Borders.[26]

The decree was lifted on March 3, 2006. However the opposition, lawyers, and
concerned citizens filed a complaint in the Supreme Court contesting the
constitutionality of PP 1017. The court, on May 4, declared the proclamation
constitutional, but said it was illegal to issue warrantless arrests and seize
private institutions.

POLICIES

Domestic policies

Charter change

In 2005, Arroyo initiated a movement for an overhaul of the constitution to

transform the present presidential-bicameral republic into a federal
parliamentary-unicameral form of government.[52] At her 2005 State of the
Nation Address, she claimed "The system clearly needs fundamental change,
and the sooner the better. It's time to start the great debate on Charter
Change".[53]

In late 2006, the House of Representatives shelved a plan to revise the

constitution through constituent assembly.[54]

Executive Order No. 464 and calibrated preemptive response

In late September 2005, Arroyo issued an executive order stating that

demonstrations without permits would be pre-emptively stopped. Then
members of the military testified in Congressional hearings that they were
defying a direct order not to testify about their knowledge of the election
scandal. There is the issuance of Executive Order No. 464 forbidding
government officials under the executive department from appearing in
congressional inquiries without President Arroyo's prior consent.[55] These
measures were challenged before the Supreme Court, which apparently
declared some sections as unconstitutional.

Human rights

A May 2006 Amnesty International report expressed concern over the sharp rise
in vigilante killings of militant activists and community workers in the
Philippines.[56] Task Force Usig, a special police unit tasked to probe reported
extra-judicial killings, by state run death squads counts 115 murders and says
most of these are the result of an internal purge by communist rebels.[57]
Human rights groups put the number as high as 830.

These violations were alleged to have been committed against left-leaning

organizations and party-list groups including BAYAN, Bayan Muna and
Anakpawis. These organizations accuse the Philippine National Police and
Armed Forces of the Philippines for the deaths of these political opponents.
Arroyo has condemned political killings "in the harshest possible terms" and
urged witnesses to come forward. "The report, which Melo submitted to Arroyo
last month, reportedly linked state security forces to the murder of militants
and recommended that military officials, notably retired major general Jovito
Palparan, be held liable under the principle of command responsibility for
killings in their areas of assignment."[58][59] [60] [61] [62]

General Palparan who retired September 11, 2006 has been appointed by
President Arroyo to be part of the Security Council. This has alarmed left-
leaning political parties about the potential for human rights violations.[63]

An independent commission was assembled in August 2006 to investigate the

killings. Headed by former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo, the group known
as the Melo Commission concluded that most of the killings were instigated by
the Armed Forces of the Philippines, but found no proof linking the murder of
activists to a "national policy" as claimed by the left-wing groups. On the other
hand the report "linked state security forces to the murder of militants and
recommended that military officials, notably retired major general Jovito
Palparan, be held liable under the principle of command responsibility for
killings in their areas of assignment."[57] Stricter anti-terror laws have also
caused some concern in recent years.

Under Arroyo's government, the Philippines has become second only to Iraq as
the world's riskiest place to report the news, with 23 journalists killed since
2003[64]
In her July 23, 2007 State of the Nation Address, Arroyo has set out her agenda
for her last three years in office, and called for legislation to deal with a spate of
political killings that have brought international criticism to her presidency. She
promised to bring peace to the troubled south, and also defended a
controversial new anti-terrorism legislation. Arroyo told the joint session of
Congress that "I would rather be right than popular."[65] Lawmakers and
lawyers, however, were dismayed by the SONA's failure to highlight and address
this major hindrance to human rights. Specifically, the Alternative Law Groups
(ALG) echoed the lawmakers’ position that Mrs Arroyo failed to take
responsibility for the problem.[66]

In 2007, incidences of extrajudicial killings dropped 87%, with the decline

attributed to the creation of a special task force to handle the killings.[67]

Amnesty proclamation

On September 5, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Amnesty

Proclamation 1377 for members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and
its armed wing, the New People's Army; other communist rebel groups; and
their umbrella organization, the National Democratic Front. The amnesty will
cover the crime of rebellion and all other crimes "in pursuit of political beliefs,"
but not including crimes against chastity, rape, torture, kidnapping for ransom,
use and trafficking of illegal drugs and other crimes for personal ends and
violations of international law or convention and protocols "even if alleged to
have been committed in pursuit of political beliefs." The National Committee on
Social Integration (NCSI) will issue a Certificate of Amnesty to qualified
applicants. Implementing rules and regulations are being drafted and the
decree will be submitted to the Senate of the Philippines and the House of
Representatives for their concurrence. The proclamation becomes effective only
after Congress has concurred.[68]

Estrada pardon

On October 25, 2007, Arroyo granted pardon to Joseph Estrada, supposedly

based on the recommendation by the Department of Justice. Press Secretary
Ignacio Bunye quoted the signed Order: "In view hereof in pursuant of the
authority conferred upon me by the Constitution, I hereby grant Executive
clemency to Joseph Ejercito Estrada, convicted by the Sandiganbayan of
plunder and imposed a penalty of reclusion perpetua. He is hereby restored to
his civil and political rights."

Bunye noted that Estrada committed in his application not to seek public office,
and he would be free from his Tanay resthouse on October 26, noon.[69][70][71]
Accordingly, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales categorically stated in 2008 that
an Estrada plan to run for president in the scheduled 2010 elections is
unconstitutional. Estrada, however, disagrees, saying that he is eligible to run
for president again, based on the legal advise he gets from former Supreme
Court Chief Justice Andres Narvasa.[72]

Health

On July 3, 2009, it was announced that Arroyo had undergone a biopsy to

examine lumps discovered in her breast and groin.[73][74] Press Secretary Cerge
Remonde stated that the results of the biopsy were negative.[73][74] Remonde also
denied reports published in 3 July 2009 editions of the Manila Bulletin and the
Philippine Star that Arroyo had undergone surgery for the removal or repair of
breast silicone implants.[73][74][75]

FOREIGN RELATION

The Arroyo administration has forged a strong relationship with the United
States. Arroyo was one of the first world leaders who expressed support for the
US-led coalition against global terrorism in the aftermath of the September 11,
2001 attacks, and remains one of its closest allies in the war on terror.[49]
Following the US-led invasion of Iraq, in July 2003 the Philippines sent a small
humanitarian contingent which included medics and engineers. These troops
were recalled in July 2004 in response to the kidnapping of Filipino truck driver
Angelo de la Cruz.[49] With the hostage takers demands met, the hostage was
released.[49] The force was previously due to leave Iraq the following month.[49]
The early pullout drew international condemnation, with the United States
protesting against the action, saying giving in to terrorist demands should not
be an option.[49]

PEACE AGREEMENT WITH THE MUSLIMS

When Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo assumed the Presidency on January 2001
after the ouster of President Joseph E. Estrada, she reversed the all-out war
policy of the Estrada Administration and initiated peace talks which led to the
signing of a ceasefire agreement on June 22, 2001.

To sustain the peace and development efforts in Mindanao and as part of the
commitment to the 1996 Peace Agreement, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
supported the September 2001 plebiscite for the ratification of Republic Act
9054, expanding the area of autonomy. The ARMM is now comprised of the
provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and the
Islamic City of Marawi.

The November 2001 ARMM election installed Dr. Parouk Hussin on January
2002 as Regional Governor of the expanded ARMM.

Since 2005, Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan has been ARMM Regional Governor

PROGRAM OF GOVERNMENT

2001- jobs, education, housing, food

She called for national unity, at the same time stating her administration's
policy to support the fair and speedy trial of all accused in the cases vs. former
President Joseph Estrada.

PGMA promised to end the Abu Sayyaf.

PGMA acknowledged the importance of information and communication

technology in economic development
farmland as loan collateral

computerization of elections

laws to reduce red tape in the national government

amend the BSP charter and the Banking Act to improve supervision and
promote financial prudence

enact the Personal Equity Retirement Act

enact the Investment Company Act

enact the Securitization Act

enact amendments to the Securities Regulation Code

enact a law providing for a gross income tax

overseas absentee voting

enact laws addressing internet privacy and security; allowing for multimedia
convergence; creating a Department of Telecommunications and Information
Technology

wage increase

creation of a Department of Housing

tax reform law

enact a law reducing the amount of drugs in a suspect's possession for him to
be charged with drug trafficking

2002-"strong republic"

PGMA envisioned a "strong republic" as the hallmark of her administration.

Point by point, she mentioned her administration's accomplishments in relation
to targets set in 2001 (agriculture, land reform, food security, health, education,
job creation).

PGMA reported an improved fiscal status.

She also cited gains in anti-terror (defeat of the Abu Sayyaf, rescue of Gracia
Burnham) and anti-crime efforts (particularly vs. kidnapping, illegal drugs and
smuggling).

anti-terrorism bill

farmland as loan collateral

special purpose vehicle act

absentee voting bill

Transco franchise bill

2003- war against terrorism, corruption, disease and drugs

PGMA created fact-finding commissions to investigate the failed Oakwood

Mutiny and the Davao bombings.

She declared war against terrorism, corruption, disease and drugs.

PGMA proceeded with a rundown of accomplishments achieved in keeping with

the 2001 SONA promises - job creation, food security, housing and education

PGMA declared that there will be no moratorium on the death penalty for drug
traffickers, but maintained that she is still pro-life in other matters.

Senate ratification of 5 remaining UN conventions against terrorism

anti-terrorism bill
Transco franchise bill

farmland as loan collateral

rationalization of excise tax on automobiles

elimination of documentary stamp tax

creation of National Revenue Authority

indexation of sin taxes (to finance the universal coverage of Philhealth

insurance)

make sure that coconut farmers benefit from coco levy funds -- allocate a
portion to victims of human rights violations during the Marcos regime

2004- "Mamamayan muna"; sacrifice, reforms

In light of OFW Angelo dela Cruz's hostage taking and release, PGMA defended
the pull out of RP troops from Iraq: RP's foreign policy is to defend national
interest, including the safety of OFWs.

With the budget deficit as the country's "most urgent problem", PGMA asked for
reforms, revenue measures, and "more sacrifice".

PGMA expected Congress to consider charter change in 2005.

PGMA reported economic gains, investments, and provision of basic needs.

She also cited anti-crime efforts (breaking up drug and kidnapping syndicates)
and government reforms (lifestyle checks, procurement reforms, downsizing
government by abolishing 80 offices)

farmland as collateral

extra year of studies (standardize what is taught in barangay daycare centers)

strengthen the Office of the Ombudsman

government re-engineering (abolish redundant offices, reduce red tape)

consider charter change

pass 8 revenue measures to collect P80 billion

Transco bill

2005- tale of two Philippines; charter change

PGMA described the country as divided -- poised for economic take off but is
beset with a degenerated political system.

Half of the entire speech was devoted to pushing for charter change.

PGMA expressed her preference for charter change by way of Constituent

Assembly.

PGMA gave a rundown of accomplishments in previous years: economic growth,

job generation, tax collection, housing, health insurance, drugs, kidnapping --
all mentioned very briefly and described in general terms.

charter change

pre-need code

legislation encouraging renewable, indigenous energy

swift passage of anti-terrorism law

2006- Super Regions

PGMA detailed her plans for the "super regions":- North Luzon Agribusiness
Quadrangle
- Metro Luzon Urban Beltway
- Central Philippines
- Mindanao
- Cyber Corridor

The plans include construction of infrastructure -- road networks, airports,

bridges.

With record revenue collections and savings, PGMA said there are enough
funds:
- to address social inequity
- to combat terrorism, lawless violence and corruption
- for constitutional and electoral reforms

PGMA also mentioned the repatriation of OFWs caught in the hostilities

between Lebanon and Israel.

automate election process

local governments must get their rightful share of revenues

2007- investments

PGMA cited her administration's accomplishments in previous years and laid

out investment priorities for the remaining three years of her term:
- infrastructure
- social programs
- bringing peace to Mindanao

The most part of her SONA focused on ongoing construction/ improvements on

various infrastructure projects in the "Super Regions", including road networks
and airports.

PGMA envisioned RP to be in the ranks of rich countries within 20 years.

create the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines

enact laws to protect witnesses from lawbreakers and law enforcers

laws to empower special courts

laws to impose harsher penalties for political killings

laws reserving the harshest penalties for the rogue elements in the uniformed
services

expedite the computerization of the COMELEC

fund poll watchdogs

enact a stronger law against election-related violence

pass the Cheaper Medicines Bill

create a law that would improve long term care for the senior citizens

amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act for open access and more
competition

2008- coping with crisis;

Katas ng VAT

legislative and political reforms for a just and lasting peace in Mindanao

bill allowing SSS to do housing loans beyond the 10% limitationmore stringent
anti-graft act

consumer bill of rights