Former President and now reelectionist Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo speaks at a crowd in Mexico town, Pampanga province on Monday. (Contributed)
MEXICO, Pampanga—A day before her 75th birthday, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had one appeal to her fellow Kapampangans: A landslide win for vice presidential candidate Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio.
“For Bong Bong Marcos to be a good president, he needs a vice president like Sara. So let’s make her win by a landslide in Pampanga,” Arroyo told the crowd that gathered at big private resort in Mexico town, speaking straight in the native language.
The appeal was similar when they backed the former president’s running mate in the 2004 elections, Noli de Castro.
Both Macapagal-Arroyo and De Castro won in that said elections.
“Kaya ngayon naman, tiyakin natin na UniTeam ang tutulungan natin. Kailangan ni BBM (Bongbong Marcos), kahit matalino siya, para maging magaling na presidente, kailangan niya si Mayor Inday Sara Duterte bilang bise presidente,” Macapagal-Arroyo said.
Arroyo said she was speaking from experience.
In her case, she said she was “lucky” to have broadcaster Noli de Castro as vice president.
“It is difficult to serve as President but I got big help from Noli,” she said.
Arroyo who is unopposed in her comeback to Congress, said voting for Duterte-Carpio was like reciprocating her father’s “big support” to the development of Pampanga.
Duterte-Carpio said she received a lot of help when Arroyo served as head of the Lakas-CMD. She wished Arroyo good health, happiness and long life.
Aside from this, Macapagal-Arroyo said President Rodrigo Duterte, Duterte-Carpio’s father, helped the province of Pampanga.
“Pangalawa, sa laki ng tulong naman ni Presidente Rody Duterte dito sa atin sa Pampanga,” Macapagal-Arroyo said.
“Kaya suklian natin siya… Dapat landslide si Inday Sara,” she added.
Macapagal-Arroyo is the president emeritus of Lakas-CMD, the party which Duterte-Carpio runs under for her vice presidential bid.
Duterte-Carpio and Macapagal-Arroyo are not strangers to each other. In 2018, it was said that Duterte-Carpio played a hand in the ouster of then House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and the installment of Macapagal-Arroyo at the helm of the lower chamber.
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