Lopez
You can never put a good woman down.
Earlier this month, former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo turned 71 while flanked by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PRRD) and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. It happened at the hugely successful gathering for PRRD hosted by my dear friends, Congressman Lord Allan Velasco and his wife Wen who’s a businesswoman and philanthropist.
It was an exclusive dinner the couple organized to bring together different supporters of PRRD — whether they liked it each other or not — to celebrate the man, his vision, and to reaffirm our support for him and the legacy he is fighting to establish for the Filipino people.
I know this couple very well and so I am no longer surprised why they would do this for him. (My golly, you should see what Wen does in her philanthropic pursuits — super all-out — I’ve never met anyone more passionate in giving and helping those in need.)
They are not only close friends of the President but like many Filipinos, they are also avid fans of the man (the more you know him, the more ardent your support, that’s what I’ve noticed). If only I could afford it, I would probably host something similar if it helps reiterate my support for this man I believe in.
But I digress. I was really happy to see PGMA on her birthday, all smiles, and in a much better place.
Sure, there was still some awkwardness when she’d move her neck (I guess she will never fully recover from her degenerative spine condition and the botched surgery performed on her because De Lima barred her from seeking medical attention overseas) but it’s safe to say those dark years are behind us.
Yes, those dark years of persecution under a vile and vindictive regime are far behind us and now we have our immensely popular president singing ‘happy birthday’ to her, a far cry from his predecessor who vilified her endlessly, a sorry excuse for a man whose only major accomplishment was inheriting an idiot-proof economy from his predecessor he either blamed or took credit from.
What an epic douche.
Gloria’s second coming
I’m sorry if I get all worked up when PGMA is concerned. This lady who has displayed class, grace, and dignified restraint in the hands of her tormentors means so much to me, and I witnessed firsthand all that she had to endure under Aquino.
Absent the great equalizer that is social media, most Filipinos believed in the lies peddled against her then by the very same political personalities and members of the oligarchy who now work mighty hard to drag PRRD down.
Still, she kept quiet (resisting the urge to resort to hysterics, unlike De Lima, Sereno, Robredo, and Kris Aquino who follow the LP playbook of theatrics to the letter) and instead focused on the work that needed to be done, instituting the necessary but unpopular fiscal reforms that are primarily responsible for the momentum, expansion, and resilience experienced by the Philippine economy well past her term.
Some supporters of PRRD have a discomfort toward his association with PGMA, perhaps a residual effect of Yellow sorcery and grand gimmickry that focused on her for over a decade (from 2005 to the present), and I don’t blame them. On the surface, both leaders seem like each other’s antithesis.
One is a daughter of the Old Guard, American-educated, diplomatic, and every bit presidential, while the other is foul-mouthed, rough, and given to dishing out the most politically incorrect jokes that typically offend this snowflake generation’s sensibilities (read: hypersensitivity).
But though the packaging of Brand Duterte and Brand Macapagal-Arroyo are completely different, what they contain inside is surprisingly similar. And that’s why they get along.
I will even dare say that PRRD is PGMA’s “second coming” — having a similar national agenda with essentially more sound and fury than the last incarnation.
PGMA is the first to admit that PRRD is a much stronger leader than she is (though her 4’11 frame was never subdued by the military adventurists during her term, including the perpetual loser Trillanes), but when you closely examine PRRD’s and PGMA’s programs and policies, including their enemies, you will find that they have more in common than you’d expect.
Here’s a quick list of just some of their shared policies.
DOMESTIC POLICY:
1) Desire to amend our constitution and push for a federal form of government;
2) Focus on decentralization of Metro Manila and shifting development to the countryside;
3) Massive infrastructure program not just in the metros but nationwide as a means to spur growth and let it trickle down to those who need it the most;
4) Drug menace as a threat to national security (PGMA issued executive order declaring it as such, PRRD used PGMA EO as impetus to wage war against drugs);
5) Fiscal/tax reform FOREIGN POLICY: 6
) Paradigm on China and forging partnerships for the West Philippine Sea (as opposed to antagonizing our neighbors);
7) A stronger ASEAN, an Asia for Asians;
8) Friendly ties with the United States, not subservience;
9) Bilateral ties focused on the welfare of OFWs and the Filipino diaspora, among others.
Even the case of the Mile Long property occupied by the Prieto-Rufino family which the Arroyo government filed has now been resolved under the Duterte Administration.
You see, whatever President Arroyo did not finish during her term (she was left with negative political capital) is now being finished by President Duterte who enjoys enormous political capital.
Life really has a way of coming full circle. Those who presided over injustice and persecution are now, themselves, at the receiving end of prosecution. De Lima who defied the Supreme Court and barred Arroyo from traveling overseas for treatment and who later on made sure she was arrested has been, herself, detained for more than a year.
The Chief Justice Aquino appointed might soon be removed using virtually the same issue his government used to impeach Corona. Truly, what goes around must come around.
In the meantime, President Arroyo was just with President Duterte in China where she was appointed to the board of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), joining former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon who was elected as its chair.
Sweet vindication. Thank you, Karma. Happy birthday once again, Ma’am.