Arroyo turns 70 in hometown with little fanfare

Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LYN RILLON)

LUBAO, PAMPANGA—Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo celebrated her 70th birthday on Wednesday with little fanfare.

There were no handouts trumpeting her accomplishments as senator, vice president, president and congresswoman.

There were also no activities that would confirm or deny rumors that she intended to run for governor in 2019.

When Arroyo talked to those who greeted her, she spoke about her joy after being freed from over four years of hospital arrest as she awaited trial for alleged corruption.

“This is my first birthday after hospital arrest,” she said after the 7 a.m. Mass celebrated by 10 priests at the centuries-old St. Augustine Church here.

Archbishop Emeritus Paciano Aniceto wished her strength so she could “continue her advocacy for life, genuine womanhood and for the poor.”

He said Arroyo “suffered the consequence of voting according to her conscience,” referring to the House measure seeking the restoration of death penalty. She voted against the bill and lost her post as House deputy speaker.

Well-wishers

Most of her well-wishers were from her home district. Family members, including two grandsons, attended the celebration. Only Pampanga Rep. Carmelo “Jonjon” Lazatin II came to join her for the breakfast buffet.

After breakfast, she inaugurated the Escolastica Romero District Hospital. Named after her paternal great-grandmother, the hospital received P25 million from President Duterte and P75 million from the Pampanga provincial government for the construction of additional buildings.

Vice Gov. Dennis Pineda, whose gubernatorial bid in 2019 would depend on whether or not Arroyo would run for that post, wished the former president “good health and more birthdays.”

In the 2010 elections, it took Arroyo 67 visits to the province’s second district before she announced her plan to run for Congress. She was the first president to run for a lower post immediately after her stint in Malacañang.

Pineda is serving his second term. His mother, Lilia, intends to retire as governor in 2019. Arroyo’s eldest son, Juan Miguel (Mikey), is reported to be considering a return to Congress.—TONETTE OREJAS