MANILA, Philippines??Awkward? and ?very quick.?
In three words, President-elect Benigno Aquino III described the congratulatory phone call of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from Shanghai on Wednesday night.
?The conversation was brief,? Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza said.
Ms Arroyo?s call came between 9:30 and 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Asked if it was awkward talking to a person whom he had promised to investigate for graft, corruption and other grave abuses, Aquino said: ?Yes.?
He quoted Ms Arroyo as saying: ?Congratulations, Mr. President ... Hoping for your success.?
Aquino said Malacańang called first and advised his staff to be ready to receive a call from Ms Arroyo.
?It was a very quick phone call. She offered her congratulations and said she was hoping for my success. I thanked her. [That was it] more or less,? he said, adding:
?She didn?t offer advice, in fairness to her.
Courtesies
?I have to give her the courtesies. She?s the current President. She?s older than me. She?s a woman. I would be doing injustice to my parents if I did not treat her properly.?
The Arroyo and Aquino families had a falling-out after former President Corazon Aquino added her voice to calls for Ms Arroyo?s resignation at the height of the ?Hello Garci? election fraud scandal in 2005, supported and joined rallies and other mass actions against her.
At the former President?s wake at Manila Cathedral in August 2009, only Aquino among the immediate family members was present to welcome Ms Arroyo when she came to pay her respects at dawn after flying in from the United States.
Print ads
Ms Arroyo was in Shanghai for a two-day official visit when Congress proclaimed Aquino and Vice President-elect Jejomar Binay on Wednesday afternoon. She arrived back in Manila at around 2 a.m. Thursday.
Malacańang Thursday ran full-page print ads in certain broadsheets, in which Ms Arroyo congratulated Aquino and Binay for their victory at the polls.
?I warmly congratulate President-elect Benigno C. Aquino III and Vice President-elect Jejomar C. Binay,? Ms Arroyo said in a brief message that echoed a congratulatory message issued by Secretary Ricardo Saludo on Wednesday afternoon.
?This election is proof that our democracy is vibrant and our new electoral system is working for the people. I will do all I can to make the transition to the new administration smooth and orderly,? she said.
She also called on all Filipinos to ?rally behind? the new administration. ?We stand with our new leaders in building unity and prosperity for all,? she said.
Aquino said he had read the ads featuring Ms Arroyo?s congratulatory message.
?But my part there was only in the first sentence. By the second sentence, it was praise for her administration. Hopefully, [the ads were not] costly,? he said.
Too preoccupied
While Aquino has vowed to review, if not undo, some of Ms Arroyo?s acts, Malacańang expressed doubt that he would be hostile to the congresswoman-elect.
Saludo said the Aquino administration would be too preoccupied running the affairs of the state to cross swords with anyone.
?You can?t spend much of your time picking fights with any group, I mean not necessarily with the former incumbent [President]. You try to minimize battles so you can at least harness as much cooperation as possible behind your programs,? he told reporters at a briefing.
If it feels it should pursue ?unresolved issues? against its predecessor, the Aquino administration should let the courts handle these, Saludo stressed.
?It?s not necessary for the government to spend all of its time on this matter,? he said.
Inherited problems
At his post-proclamation briefing, Aquino said the first order of business would be to list all the problems he would inherit from the current administration.
He also promised to review all of Ms Arroyo?s appointments, and declared that Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Delfin Bangit would have to go.
Don?t focus only on problems
Saludo said Aquino?s pronouncements on how to improve the economy were ?a good start.?
?His desire to better the lot of the country and work for the country?s development are all good things. That?s why we are calling on our countrymen to rally behind the new leadership,? he said.
And given his political experience during his mother?s administration, as well as the good counsel he is getting from his advisers, Aquino would make a good leader, Saludo said, adding:
?With the help of these knowledgeable advisers and his Cabinet, we believe that he can do a lot to better the country.?
Saludo, however, advised the incoming Malacańang occupant not only to focus on the problems but also to consider the successful programs of the Arroyo administration in reducing poverty and maintaining economic stability.
?We hope that he would not only thoroughly review the problems, but also the gains of the administration, so the next administration can build on these,? he said, referring to the pro-poor conditional cash transfer and policies to reduce the budget deficit.
?One of the key achievements of this administration is just to work down the debt and ... the deficit, and the impact of that is huge. The reason the peso is strong is that one big reason. The reason we have sustained growth and we are attracting investment particularly in certain new industries like BPO (business process outsourcing) is also because of the economic stability that has been achieved under the President,? he added.
Under close watch
Saludo said the whole country would be closely watching the work of Aquino, his Cabinet, the entire government and even Congress in the next six years.
?All Filipinos will be closely watching, including the media. This is all part of democracy. One of the key aspects of leadership is consultation, and cooperation with different sectors of society,? he said.
Saludo also said the executive department recognized Aquino?s right to review Ms Arroyo?s so-called 11th-hour appointments, or even dismiss the appointees:
?Now, the next administration can certainly review and move people around, and the only thing that would govern such movement, of course, will be civil service rules. There are rules that apply to certain positions and those rules will, of course, have to be respected. If there are movements that might violate those rules, then the ones that are affected can certainly go to either the Civil Service Commission or the Court of Appeals.?
