Jeers: But will she be
outta here in 2010?

IT was what the people needed to hear, but there was no categorical statement from President Arroyo that she will step down after her term ends in June 2010 when she delivered her ninth and final state of the nation address yesterday.

"This means she plans to be around beyond 2010. Mrs. Arroyo did not tell her allies to abandon Charter change through constituent assembly. This means con-ass is still on," said Makati Mayor and United Opposition president Jejomar Binay.

The Makati Business Club said it was disappointed not to have heard from President Arroyo a categorical statement on stepping down after her term.

The SONA was superficial even, said MBC executive director Alberto Lim, because it was used to lash at government critics, from former Presidents Estrada and Fidel Ramos and presidential aspirant Sen. Mar Roxas.

"Instead of being above them (critics), she stooped to their level," Lim said.

House minority leader Ronaldo Zamora said he was "disappointed" with the absence of a declaration from Arroyo that she is stepping down.

He said if Arroyo wanted to end all speculations, she could have done so in a single statement. "She simply had to say, ‘I am stepping down.’ but she did not."

Former president Fidel V. Ramos, who has been taking pot shots at the President, tried to evade reporters. He said though that Arroyo was "fierce" in her 59-minute speech.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Rufino Biazon said: "There was no ‘goodbye.’ She was only categorical that she is stepping down from the podium but she made no definite statement on term extension. When former President Cory Aquino delivered her last SONA, her last word was ‘Paalam.’ This afternoon, I waited for it but it did not come. She (Arroyo) only said ‘Thank you’. I guess that means Cha-cha (Charter Change) is still on."

Reps. Zamora, Carlos Padilla (Nueva Vizcaya), Risa Hontiveros (PL-Akbayan) and Sen. Pia Cayetano agreed the President left the issue of term extension hanging on purpose.

"She keeps hedging. There was nothing categorical in her speech so I think it is not safe to make a conclusion. From where I’m standing, Cha-cha is not dead," Padilla said.

Hontiveros believes the absence of any such denial in Arroyo’s SONA was an indirect instruction to her House allies to make a last-ditch attempt at removing term limits in the 1987 Constitution.

Cayetano said Arroyo unfairly used her SONA to take potshots against her critics and, in doing so, failed to accord her office the honor it deserves.

"She had a right to defend herself but her comments were petty. There is a correct way of speaking based on one’s position in government," she said.

Sen. Francis Escudero said Arroyo did not clarify her stand on Charter change and her 2010 plans.

He also said the SONA was a "glass half-filled speech with scant mention of the glass half-empty part of the picture."

He said there was no mention of corruption in government and the human rights situation.

"To be fair, masipag naman talaga siya (Pangulong Arroyo)…kung saan nga lang ginagamit ang sipag, ibang usapan na iyon. And I hope her last line meant goodbye," he said.

An official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said people have been waiting for Arroyo’s clear statement on her plans after June 2010 "but it was absent."

"Wala siyang clear cut statement na she will not run for any position. There was no statement na she’s giving up or running for any position after her incumbency," said Fr. Francis Lucas, executive director of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Communications and Mass Media.

Lucas also said he found the SONA full of "motherhood statements and statistics, and there was no mention of the human rights issue.

CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said whether the SONA reflected the truth, "we will know it by comparing it with the perception or how the people perceived it."

Lagdameo said Arroyo’s speech was well-prepared and full of statistics.

"It was prepared in order to build the image of the President and her administration," he said.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan said it was expected that Arroyo "trumpeted her administration’s supposed successes."

"The painful truth is that data show poverty levels have not been reduced; they have, in fact, increased over her watch. Pervasive corruption has not been addressed, and our people, in the thousands, continue to leave the country daily, having lost hope of having a better future in the Philippines," he said.

Sen. Loren Legarda said the "glowing image" painted by Arroyo does not translate to tangible improvement in the lives of the people.

"In a nutshell, the President’s SONA mirrored her administration which had been, to borrow her own words, based on `good news or bad news.’ By emphasizing good news, perception and the supposed acclamation it had received, the SONA had shown the outgoing administration to be more interested on pogi points," she said.

Former President Joseph Estrada said the true state of the nation is that Arroyo has succeeded in making the country the "most corrupt and most dangerous place for journalists."

"In terms of economics, our foreign debt stands at four trillion, our farm output is half of what it was in 2000. We are now the biggest importer instead of exporter of rice," Estrada also said. 

The Makati Business Club took exception to Arroyo’s statement that she never declared martial law. "What do you call (Presidential Proclamation) 1017. Wasn’t that taken from (Proclamation) 1081 by Marcos declaring martial law in 1972?" Alberto Lim asked.

PP 1017 put the country under a state of emergency on Feb. 24, 2006.

The MBC said Arroyo took credit for things that she did not accomplish, noting addressing the problem of disappearing loads on cellular phones was an achievement of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

MBC executive director Alberto Lim said Arroyo could not take credit for remittances and she should have attributed the growth in gross domestic products to higher remittances.