MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo urged Filipinos on Monday “to be of service to others” this holiday season.
“May the spirit of Christmas lift our desire to be of service to others and unite us towards the attainment of peace and happiness,” Arroyo said in her first and last Christmas message as House Speaker.
“Let the holidays fill your home with love and joy. Have a blessed and meaningful Christmas,” she added.
Arroyo is now on her last term as Pampanga Representative.
She was elected House Speaker on July 24 after a day-long leadership row that delayed President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address.
READ: Backed by 184 lawmakers, Gloria Arroyo takes oath as Speaker
Arroyo was arrested in 2011 on electoral fraud charges in connection with the 2007 elections. She allowed bail in 2012 but before she could be freed, the Sandiganbayan ordered her arrest on charges of plunder over the alleged PCSO fund scandal.
She had been spending Christmas at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City since 2011 until she was released on July 2016 after the Supreme Court dismissed her remaining plunder charges. /je