makati city
When I was a kid, I never dreamt of becoming a president. I have known that the task has always been hard, and no matter how you struggle to perform well, the fact is that you cannot please everybody.
These days, I have thought of something that is much harder than being the president. That is, being in the shoes of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Just exactly how hard it is to be PGMA?
1.It takes galls and guts to prove that you won "fair and square" during the presidential polls last May 2004.
While some of us may find it too easy, it would be making things possible if you were to fill in the shoes of GMA as there are a lot of fingers, with overwhelming and sufficient evidence, that pinpoints you not just a loser, but a cheater on that election.
GMA: "So will I still lead by 1 million overall?"
Garci: "Pipilitin ho natin ’yan." ("We will do everything to make it so.")
("Hello Garci" tape, May-June 2004. GMA made no less than 15 calls to Garci for several weeks after the elections. As a result, she got a lead of more than half a million in Muslim Mindanao, universally regarded as FPJ’s bailiwick.)
2.It takes a lot of skills and talent to appear and act in a manner that you are not used to, such as going to the slums to pretend that you are "para sa masa", coming before the public looking sorry for the victims of the spate of killings and human rights violations and appearing to be in fighting form against corruption.
Indeed, who would ever forget the sudden shift of the mood of the president when she explained and apologized for her direct intervention on the elections of 2004? From a tough-looking iron woman who could turn a person into a stone with a single blink of an eye, she suddenly metamorphosed into a kind lamb that looked incapable of committing any untoward activity.
"I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many people, including a Comelec official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election, and it did not. As I mentioned, the election has already been decided and the votes counted. And as you remember, the outcome had been predicted by every major public opinion poll, and adjudged free, fair and decisive by international election observers, and our own Namfrel.
"That said; let me tell you how I personally feel. I recognize that making any such call was a lapse in judgment. I am sorry. I also regret taking so long to speak before you on this matter. I take full responsibility for my actions and to you and to all those good citizens who may have had their faith shaken by these events, I want to assure you that I have redoubled my efforts to serve the nation and earn your trust."
(July 2005).
In the harshest possible terms, I condemn political killings. We together stopped judicial executions with the abolition of the death penalty. We urge witnesses to come forward. Together we will stop extrajudicial executions.
(State of the Nation Address, July 24, 2006)
3. It is not easy to cook up reasons and rhetoric to explain the current turmoil our society is battling with. Jargon, statistics and sound bites, however impressive and outstanding they are, have fallen short to overshadow the face of poverty and crises.
"I am not here to talk about politics; I am here to talk about what the people want; details on the State of the Nation and what their government is doing to make progress every single day.Sama-sama nating isusulong ang bansa patungo sa kinabukasang nagniningning.Gaya ng nakikita sa graph na ito, dahil sa ating reporma sa ekonomiya, we now have the funds to address social inequity and economic disparity. Too many ... masyadong marami, ang mamamayang nagugutom.
Hindi ako hihinto hanggang magtagumpay ang ating laban sa kahirapan.We now have the funds to stamp out terrorism and lawless violence.May pondo na tayo para labanan ang katiwalian.Our reforms have earned us P1 billion from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account for more investigators, prosecutors, and new technology to fight corruption. We are matching this with another billion from our fiscal savings.We now have the funds for constitutional and electoral changes. Sa kasalukuyang sistema, napakabagal ng proseso, at bukas sa labis na pagtutunggali, at sikil ang lalawigan at mamamayan sa paghahari ng Imperial Manila. Panahon nang ibalik ang kapangyarihan sa taumbayan at lalawigan.
For surely, there must be a better way to do politics, so that those who lose elections do not make the country pay for their frustrated ambitions. There must be a better way so that those who win the nation's mandate to govern can work without delay and whimsical obstruction. There must be a better way."
(State of the Nation Address, 24 July 2006)
Aside from that, you have to be imaginative and fictitious to vamp up more pledges and promises especially that the people are now breathing on your neck. You have to explore new and catchy phrases, and have to try every means to deceive/convince people to rally behind you.
"We will expand President Ramos' flagship San Roque Multipurpose Dam with the massive Agno River Project. Another major project is the Banaoang Irrigation. We allocate P200 million a month for small irrigation projects like those in the flood control plan of the Region II Development Council headed by Bishop Ramon Villena. Plus another P200 million a month for farm to market roads.
Also in the works is an international airport in Poro, La Union and the improvement of the 2 airports in Batanes as recommended by Governor Vic Gato. Ilocos Sur will have a seaport in Salomague while the Cagayan Zone Authority will better the one in Port Irene.
To save dollars, windmills in Batanes and Ilocos Norte turn megawinds into megawatts. When Army Commander Romy Tolentino was North Luzon commander, he became a soldier-farmer, planting jatropha as yet another alternative fuel.The Metro Luzon Urban Beltway spans most of Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mindoro and Marinduque. It must be a globally competitive urban, industrial and services center, because it produces more than half of the country's GDP.
To be world-class we invest in five comprehensive strategies for global competitiveness:
1. Make food plentiful and affordable to keep our labor cost globally competitive.
2. Reduce the cost of electricity to make our factories regionally competitive.
3. Modernize infrastructure at least cost to efficiently transport goods and people.
4. Mobilize, upgrade and disseminate knowledge and technologies for productivity.
5. Reduce red tape in all agencies to cut business costs.The most prohibitive red tape is in our outmoded Constitution. We need Constitutional change to bring our rules of investment into the new millennium
The new public bidding process has been shortened to 45 days for infrastructure, and 26 days for supplies, as of today. Even before this, Metro Manila firms paying bribes for public contracts declined from 57% in 2003 to 46 today. Congratulations, Metro Manila
Machine-readable electronic passports will enhance the credibility of Philippine travel documents, improve the mobility and increase the prospects of Philippine business and labor. "
(State of the Nation Address, 24 July 2006)
4. You have to be at ease rubbing elbows with the butchers and criminals. In all the occasions, you have to make sure that you acknowledge them, appreciating all their efforts even these have meant blatant use of guns, goons and grenades to silence those who prefer to speak up. For they are your last recourse, they are the pillars of your own version of democracy.
"Sa ganitong mga proyekto, palalakasin natin ang ekonomiya ng mga barangay at lalawigan. And we will end the long oppression of barangays by rebel terrorists who kill without qualms, even their own. Sa mga lalawigang sakop ng 7th Division, nakikibaka sa kalaban si Jovito Palparan. Hindi siya aatras hanggang makawala sa gabi ng kilabot ang mga pamayanan at maka-ahon sa bukang-liwayway ng hustisya at kalayaan."
(State of the Nation Address, 24 July 2006)
5. Can you spend your nights sharing bed with Mike Arroyo? You have to, because he is your husband (at least in the eye of the people) even though just looking at him spoils your day. You have to project a very good wife to him even if he always steals the limelight from you from his infamous (mis) adventures.
You should keep your blood level, as you have to tolerate his unwanted activities such as his addiction to jueteng, etc.
6. You should accept Mikey Arroyo as your son even if his movies, which all flopped, make you puke. Like father like son as he is, you have no choice at all.
7. No matter how you have glued yourself to power, you are now trembling down to your knees at the sight of millions of people challenging your supremacy. Your tricks aimed at deceiving these people are a failure and you have no resort at all but to silence them with the hails of bullets.
Should I be Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, I would rather go out of my office to save my face.
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