President Aquino told: Focus on economy, not Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III should focus more on saving the deteriorating economy rather than on engaging in fault-finding by maligning former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and some members of the Supreme Court, House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said on Saturday.

“Neither the Supreme Court, a judicial tribunal, nor Arroyo, who laid down strong economic fundamentals for the country, is the culprit in our current economic woes,” Lagman said.

“Only the Aquino administration can be blamed for the dismal economic performance because it has prioritized partisan vendetta over sound economic policies,” he said.

Lagman said Mr. Aquino wasted the time of members of the Makati Business Club during its 30th anniversary when he failed to outline his immediate economic agenda in the wake of the country’s “anemic” 3.2-percent growth rate in the third quarter.

In that meeting, Lagman said, the President merely spoke about Arroyo and condemned some members of the high tribunal for acting swiftly on her motion for a temporary restraining order.

Lagman said that even concerned citizens expressed disgust over the President’s poor performance in the economic sector on Internet social networking sites.

Lagman reminded Mr. Aquino that as the final arbiter of justiciable issues, the Supreme Court would always act with judicious dispatch when civil liberties, like the right to travel and the tenet of due process, were curtailed by the executive branch.

“Fault-finding and engaging in the blame game are the trademarks of poor governance and are convenient smokescreens for lackadaisical performance,” he said.

But Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño said that Arroyo was getting special treatment from the Aquino administration which she did not deserve, considering the many sins of her administration.