|
PRESIDENT Arroyo asserted Sunday her administration
would not have posted consecutive quarters of growth if
she truly tolerated corruption, and bluntly denied
allegations that members of her family are involved in
irregularities.
Speaking
after a morning Mass in Malacañang on the eve of planned
protest rallies against her, the President also brushed
aside resignation calls and said she would serve her
full term until 2010, as mandated by the Constitution.
“We will
not dignify the false allegation that our administration
is more corrupt than its predecessors. Our robust
economy is the best rebuttal to such baseless rumors.
Corrupt countries do not have economies growing at their
fastest in a generation, reaping more revenues, running
after tax evaders or prosecuting more officials if they
are not transparent,” she said.
She
noted that her administration is being attacked with
“many allegations that have yet to be proven, and rumors
that are not supported by evidence,” some made by
“bitter losers” who alleged that her husband, Jose
Miguel, is part of a supposed
midnight Cabinet in Malacañang. She was obviously referring to
businessman Joey de Venecia, son and namesake of the
former House Speaker, whose company lost the project for
a national broadband network (NBN) to Chinese telecom
giant ZTE Co.
“It is
true that I start work early and sometimes work through
the night. Perhaps, those who do not work as hard would
be surprised to learn that I sometimes meet with my
Cabinet past
midnight. But I am the President; no one else is. I decide on
matters related to governance and not those who are not
mandated to do so,” she said.
Responding to allegations that her husband and her
children, Reps. Juan Miguel and Diosdado Ignacio, are
involved in smuggling, Mrs. Arroyo said: “My family does
not do business with the government. Anything to the
contrary is unacceptable and they know this.”
The
President assured the public that whoever is found
guilty in relation to the cancelled NBN deal with ZTE
Co. will be held accountable, consistent with her “firm
resolve to fight corruption.”
She
noted that when she learned about irregularities in the
ZTE deal, she “moved quickly” to cancel the contract,
and only waited for her trip to China so she could
personally inform Chinese President Hu Jintao about her
decision.
The
President said her administration “aims to take control
of the situation” on corruption in the country, and is
working with Congress to pass an Anticorruption Reform
Act of 2008 “to plug in loopholes and increase the
penalties for corruption.”
The
Chief Executive stood pat on her stand on finishing her
term, saying: “I will follow the Constitution and my own
desire to step down from office at the end of my term. I
can tell you without any doubt that I will step down in
2010, but until that day comes, I will strive to pursue
reforms so that we can leave a strong nation to the next
leader.”
Mrs.
Arroyo said that since she will not have time left to
pursue Charter changes, she hoped that “the next leader
would have the strong will to fix our political system”
through constitutional amendments.
“We
challenge our political leaders who are seeking the
presidency in 2010 to develop a positive agenda for
change and reform. The people want us to focus on
working for the people and avoid the endless saga of
political vendetta and mindless investigations. The
people want peace, order and stability. We must give
them what they deserve,” she said.
She
reiterated that while the world celebrated the 1986
popular revolt in Edsa and “tolerated” the second people
power that installed her in Malacañang, it “will not
forgive an Edsa 3 in 2008” and would instead “condemn
the Philippines as a country whose political system is
hopelessly unstable,” leading to lost investment
opportunities.
“Under
these circumstances, who would invest in the
Philippines? How do you weather the difficulties arising
from the spikes in the price of crude oil in the world
market and the global economic slowdown? Filipinos want
political stability, a bright economic future and social
justice,” she said.
The
President said she is “not perfect,” but “[has] worked
hard every day to achieve positive and lasting change
for the nation.”
She
claimed her administration “helped create seven million
new jobs and bring in billions in new investment.
Unemployment is down, the incidence of hunger is down,
access to health care and a good education are up. But
many things need to be done.” |
