QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Arroyo basks in support of town mayors
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:57:00 11/20/2008
Filed Under: Politics, Local authorities, Governance
MANILA, Philippines—I scratch your back, you scratch mine.
Consistently battered in popularity surveys, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Wednesday sought refuge in the company of town mayors who assured her that they paid no attention to “verbal fireworks” generated by issues such as the fertilizer fund scam.
“We cannot—in conscience and practice—follow the bickering and political mudslinging that seem to be the preoccupation of many of our elected national leaders,” Pangasinan Mayor Ramon Guico, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), said during its general assembly at the Manila Hotel.
“We, (mayors) from the small towns and villages of our country, cannot be distracted by the verbal fireworks and rhetoric by some of our leaders over the latest fertilizer scam, ‘euro’ generals, destabilization, or impeachment complaint,” Guico said.
Elated by the show of support, Ms Arroyo thanked local executives for “not (being) affected by the noise prematurely generated by the 2010 elections.”
“Thank you for realizing that effective governance is not a popularity contest,” she said in her speech. “Thank you for understanding that the people deserve for their leaders to deliver results.”
LMP gatherings have been a traditional comfort zone for Ms Arroyo, especially in the light of her poor showing in popularity surveys.
The latest Pulse Asia survey found that 46 percent of Filipinos disapproved of her performance while 51 percent distrusted her. In Metro Manila, 65 percent of the respondents said they both distrusted her and disapproved of her performance.
At the LMP assembly, Ms Arroyo outlined programs for local government units.
She said she had ordered a technical study on the “resources needed to transform every province in the country into an ICT (information and communications technology) enabler.”
The vision was consistent with the country’s standing as a major player in the business process outsourcing sector.
Ms Arroyo also reminded the 1,495-member LMP that she was the first among all Philippine presidents to release in full the internal revenue allotment of towns and cities.
“In fact, we have been paying what previous administrations owed you,” she told them.
About four hours before the LMP affair, Ms Arroyo awarded a total of P1.8 million in capital assistance to around 200,000 beneficiaries of 10 transport cooperatives in Metro Manila.
Eight of these cooperatives each got a P150,000 check, while two others—the GMA Transport Service and Multipurpose Cooperative and the GSIS Village Transport Service Cooperative—each received a P300,000 check.
The checks were part of the “Dagdag Regular Income Via Entrepreneurship” (Project DRIVE), a “no interest, no collateral” capital assistance program that would purportedly benefit around 510,000 beneficiaries.
Seed money ranged from a minimum of P5,000 for individual borrowers and a maximum of P150,000 for associations with 30 members.
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