In Pampanga turf, Arroyo fall from glory shows

LUBAO, Pampanga—Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s office on the second floor of the town hall here is sparse and doesn’t have a seal of the House of Representatives.

Her two portraits, however, offer a clue as to who occupies it.

A lone employee said the office continued to release funds for medical and educational aid for 2,000 scholars in Pampanga’s second district.

At the far end of the room, stacks of canned goods are waiting to be distributed. The employee couldn’t say if funds for the welfare program came from Arroyo’s pork barrel.

Mayors allied with Arroyo plan to offer Mass for her speedy recovery. She last heard Mass here on April 5, her 64th birthday.

Arroyo’s house, built beside the church when she was still the most powerful person in the country, is empty.

Some constituents remain fiercely loyal to her. “It looked to me that she’s being treated like a convict,” said Jess Lerit, head of the Parish Pastoral Council in Lubao, Arroyo’s hometown.

Dorina Armas, Arroyo’s neighbor in Barangay San Nicolas here, said there was no need for Arroyo to quit her House seat.

The district has a population of about 300,000 in the towns of Lubao, Sasmuan, Guagua, Sta. Rita, Floridablanca and Porac. Arroyo won by a landslide there, being the first President to slide down to a local position.

Some of her loyalists said they believe her people, not Arroyo herself, committed wrongdoing. “She did not do anything wrong,” said Leoncia Flores, 74, a retail store owner.

Some said efforts to lock Arroyo in jail do not signify genuine change because the people who are after her are also “all corrupt.”

Fr. Noli Fernandez said the most important thing for Arroyo was to recover so she could have the strength to face her accusers.

“It’s only then that she can face her problems and help us come to the truth,” said the parish priest of Arroyo’s hometown.

In Pangasinan, former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said Arroyo’s position must first be declared vacant and elections held to replace her.

“Besides, what if she is acquitted next week?” said De Venecia, who had a falling out with Arroyo over a broadband project that his son lost to a Chinese firm backed by ex-First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and other key Arroyo allies. With reports from Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon and Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon