3 critics give PGMA failing grades

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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, in a farewell speech Wednesday, defended her scandal-tainted record, just a week before the hugely unpopular leader steps down from office.

In a brief televised address, Arroyo also called on the nation to unite behind her successor, President-elect Benigno Aquino III who won the May 10 elections by campaigning on a vocal anti-Arroyo platform.

"I feel confident that we are leaving this nation much stronger than when I came to office," she declared as she listed her achievements.

"Tonight, I call on everyone to unite behind our new leaders,” she added.

Arroyo said she made unpopular economic decisions but this resulted in continued economic growth throughout her 9 years in office even when economic crises swept the globe.

"Look around you in our cities, as you drive by office towers that have changed the skyline... in our provinces, as you drive along the roads, bridges and the ports where we have made massive investments," she told the public.

Arroyo made no mention of the frequent accusations that she was guilty of massive corruption and vote fraud.

Most unpopular president

Such accusations have made Arroyo one of the most unpopular presidents in recent history, and Aquino's landslide victory last month is widely seen as a product of the anger against her.

Based on time-series surveys conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), Arroyo hit rock bottom in March 2010 when her net satisfaction rating fell to negative 53 (16% satisfied minus 60% dissatisfied) or "very bad," based on SWS's terminology.

Aquino has vowed to have Arroyo investigated for alleged anomalies committed during her presidency, and has accused her of leaving him many problems to handle, from a growing budget deficit to widespread poverty.

However, Arroyo urged Aquino to retain some of her policies, saying "each successive government must build on the successes and progresses of the previous one, advance the programs that work, leave behind those that don't."

Arroyo said that, after she steps down on June 30, she would be "leading a quieter public role" -- referring to her seat in Congress.

Arroyo won election as the representative of her home province of Pampanga in the May 10 elections. Critics charge that she ran for the position mainly to protect herself from government investigations after her presidency is over.

Malacañang credits the outgoing chief executive's singular focus on her government's goals, unhindered by destructive politics.

"She has embraced a policy not to dwell on politics and focus instead on her own programs and agenda, no matter how bitter the criticism may sound," said deputy Palace spokesperson Roger Peyuan.

Failing grades

And yet, despite Mrs. Arroyo's supposed achievements, political observers gave the outgoing chief executive a failing grade.

They cited the deplorable poverty situation and state of joblessness in the country, as well as weakened institutions for Mrs. Arroyo's dismal ratings.

"In a scale of 10, 4 would be high," said Senate minority leader Senator Aquilino Pimentel on ANC's The Rundown on Wednesday night. "She says, 'look around you, see how this country is developed.' That's what I do every time I land in the Manila International Airport, I see thousands of shanties all over the landscape. Why do 3,000 people go out of the country to search for work everyday if everything's going well in the country?"

Professor Edmund Tayao of the UST Political Science Department gave President Arroyo a grade of 6 out of 10.

"She says we're stronger, but I'd like to think we're weaker. The institutions we've so painstakingly built have been considerably destroyed," Tayao said.

75% for economy; 60% for corruption

In an interview by Willard Cheng for ABS-CBN's TV Patrol, Tayao said Mrs. Arroyo did poorly after more than 9 years in power.

Tayao gave Mrs. Arroyo a passing grade of 75 for her handling of the economy, citing her infrastructure projects and the imposition of the Expanded Value-Added Tax (E-VAT), which helped the country weather the global financial crisis.

He, however, gave her a 60 for corruption, citing unresolved cases including the scuttled NBN-ZTE overpriced broadband deal, and the low conviction rate despite the creation of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission.

Tayao gave Mrs. Arroyo a 65 for peace and order, citing government's failure to dismantle private armies which have been blamed for the Maguindanao massacre.

He also gave her anti-insurgency campaign a 70, and despite the assistance through government's cash dole out, a grade of 75 for poverty, and a failing grade of 65 in governance.

Poverty and inequality

Former National Treasurer Leonor Briones of the University of the Philippines' National College of Public Administration and Governance  (NCPAG) gave Mrs. Arroyo a grade of 3.

"If you look at growth which claims to be uninterrupted, it's accompanied by uninterrupted increase in poverty, levels of high unemployment and underemployment," Briones said.

She cited widening gaps in equality and the delivery of social services, adding a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figure is hardly a basis for a stable economy.

"We have a huge budget, much of which goes to debt servicing. Revenue we generated in first quarter alone was not enough to pay for debt service. As of end-May, the deficit was at P161 billion. By the time the new administration comes in, the debt and deficit will be much bigger and we will have an unstable economy because of high unemployment levels," Briones said. 

Dev't and human rights

Briones added economic development has to trickle down to basic human rights.

"Human rights are a basic requirement of governance. You cannot have economic development without human rights," Briones said. "It's a basic right of individuals to have their rights protected by the state. Human rights are not just political rights. It's the right to be lifted out of poverty, the right to education, the right to good health, the right to have decent housing and the right to have a good president."

"You should look at the audit report on unfinished bridges, the hundreds of houses of unfinished bridges to nowhere. The excellent audit report talks about money that has been wasted. You talk about jobs, call center jobs are just one kind of job available only to those with university education," Briones said.

She added the government's "Beat the Odds" program has fallen short of meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

Tayao said accomplishments trumpeted by Mrs. Arroyo don't translate to reality.

"Assuming this government has been good in economic terms as they'd like to claim, this runs contradictory to its score in governance, transparency and accountability," Tayao said. "The Fraport [airport terminal] issue is definitely an international blot on our record as a destination for foreign investors. That tells us that institutions are not working, as far as this country is concerned. Mrs. Arroyo came to power on the basis of the state, and the state is no longer existing now that she's about to leave."

Avoiding Arroyo's pitfalls

Today, they call on the incoming Aquino government to avoid the pitfalls of the Arroyo administration by ensuring members of the Aquino Cabinet keep the nation's interest above their own, that they make an honest assessment of the country's problems and translate Aquino's campaign promises into action.

"He has to make sure these people will not advance their own agenda instead of the national interest," Pimentel said. "And considering the circumstances, he was propelled to the highest position of the land, he might just be able to turn for the good of the country."

"It will take a lot of money to reverse the situation in the economy and social sector," Briones added. "And where will he get the money? Who will bear the burden and how do you finance this huge deficit and debt?"

"We should remind the president-elect, the campaign has ended and the promises have to be translated into action. There has to be leadership," Tayao said.

Call for unity

Arroyo allies, meantime, insisted that apart from Mrs. Arroyo's achievements in governance, she leaves the incoming government with better conditions for leadership, unity and cooperation.

"This [farewell address] is a call for unity," said Reginald Velasco, deputy secretary-general of Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

"To unite behind the new leader is an important message to the party leaders and members and the countrymen, that we should give the new leaders and other leaders a chance to serve the people. The new leader can expect a less violent opposition, a less acrimonious opposition. The next opposition that will come with the new leaders will be a more constructive opposition." -- with Agence France-Presse