MANILA, Philippines ?Will President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo be finally liked after June 30?

For former congressman Propero Pichay, Arroyo?s political adviser, the unpopular President will be better appreciated after she steps down from office?and more specifically?once she ceases becoming a political figure.

Pichay defended on Sunday the government?s plan to aggressively advertise Arroyo?s purported achievements in her nine years in office, saying it was not a ?personal charm campaign? in the face of consistently low approval rating.

Besides the ads being readied by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Arroyo has also made herself more accessible to the media. Last week, she had lunch with the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) and later with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap).

Both occasions had been a rarity, especially after the ?Hello Garci? scandal in 2005 when she avoided ouster amid allegations that she had cheated in the presidential election the year before that.

But as in the past, she sought to control the flow of exchanges like in the MPC affair where conversations were limited to the death of Press Secretary Cerge Remonde.

?The only way a legacy can be realized is for the people to know about her programs,? Pichay told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone. ?If you look at her performance, she has really done a lot. Nobody can dispute that.?

Asked if Ms Arroyo would finally be appreciated after the presidency, he said: ?I think so. When she?s no longer political, that?s when people will start to be objective.?

But being ?no longer political? might have to wait for at least three years because Arroyo is not about to leave public life just yet. She is running virtually unchallenged in the congressional race in the second district of Pampanga. A victory will keep her at the House of Representatives until 2013.

?She may not be appreciated anytime soon,? Pichay said. ?Let her be judged by history.?

He said the President?s achievements since 2001 could also be better examined once compared with those of her successor.

?You can?t predict how the next president will perform, but the people will see the difference,? he said, citing the Arroyo administration?s accomplishments in areas such as health, economy, infrastructure, and rural electrification.

These were also included in the detailed list of achievements published in a number of newspapers last week. PIA chief Conrado ?Dodie? Limcauco said more of the same ads would come out in Ms Arroyo?s final months in office.

?It?s hard to measure up to these achievements,? Pichay said.

He cautioned presidential candidates such as Senator Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III against using Arroyo?s end-of-term ?report card? to boost their respective campaigns.

?It?s hard to dispute good performance,? he said. ?It would be negative for someone like Noynoy to criticize an outgoing president. He should instead tell people what he intends to go once he gets elected.?