After ‘evil’ tag comes ‘she’s the luckiest b*tch’
By Michelle Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:27:00 02/21/2008
MANILA, Philippines - Whatever she is, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is one lucky President, according to her economic adviser.
Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said that despite the slew of criticisms leveled at Ms Arroyo, the numbers proved that her administration was working hard to improve the economy to uplift the lives of more Filipinos.
“She may be a b*tch, but she’s the luckiest b*tch around,” Salceda said at a socioeconomic forum held Wednesday at the Ateneo de Manila University campus in Rockwell, Makati City.
His remark elicited laughter from the audience, but he subsequently apologized for it, saying it could have been taken seriously by some people in the audience that included members of the media.
With affection
In a text message to the Inquirer, the governor said: “It (The remark) was said tongue in cheek, almost with affection, during an Ateneo forum when I was discussing potent and positive global trends and domestic factors.
“I admit it was a bad joke in poor taste. I apologize to PGMA (the President) for the unintended misimpression. Ciel Habito can corroborate that.”
Habito, the economic planning secretary during the Ramos administration, was another speaker at the forum.
‘Evil’
But the “b*tch” remark evoked witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr.’s testimony to the Senate on Monday that then Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri had described Ms Arroyo to him as “evil.”
That same afternoon, Neri, now chair of the Commission on Higher Education, said he did not remember saying such a thing.
Nevertheless, the “evil” tag is now making the rounds of the highly charged political atmosphere.
Wednesday, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, an outspoken ally of the President, took a dig at groups critical of the administration.
Gonzalez referred to them as “evil—civil society,” correcting himself in midsentence.
When reporters later asked him about it, a smiling Gonzalez said it was “a slip of the tongue.”
GDP growth
Salceda said the President’s “luck” in successfully improving the Philippines’ macroeconomic fundamentals was highlighted by the accelerated growth in the gross domestic product—the sum of the value of goods produced and services rendered within an economy in a given period—and the benign inflation during her term.
He said that compared with the macroeconomic fundamentals during the terms of Presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada, the figures were much better during Ms Arroyo’s term.
He noted that GDP growth averaged at 4.7 percent from 2001 to 2007 under Ms Arroyo’s leadership, and averaged at only 3.6 percent during Aquino’s term, 3.7 percent during Ramos’ term, and 2.8 percent during Estrada’s term.
Last year’s 7.3-percent GDP growth was the highest in 31 years.
Salceda also said that inflation, or the increase in consumer prices, was slowest during Ms Arroyo’s term.
Inflation averaged at 10.4 percent during Aquino’s term, 7.6 percent during Ramos’ term, 6 percent during Estrada’s term, and 5.1 percent in 2001 to 2007 under Ms Arroyo’s presidency.
Tax refund
Salceda said he had proposed to Ms Arroyo that the government refund 20 percent of the income taxes it withheld last year from salaried individuals.
The proposed refund, amounting to P16 billion, will mean an estimated P7,000 in extra cash for the 2.3 million employees that filed income tax returns last year.
According to Salceda, the President considers this proposal a standby program to be implemented in the event of a recession in the United States.
The Philippine economy shrinks by 0.176 percent for every 1-percent drop in the United States’ GDP, per Salceda’s estimates.
The Philippines is expected to be adversely affected by a US recession because of its close economic relations with the world’s biggest economy.
The United States accounts for 17 percent of the export earnings of the Philippines, and is home to many Filipino workers whose remittances are considered a major growth driver for the domestic economy. With a report from Leila Salaverria
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