Arroyo’s fall from superstar to reviled figure

MANILA, Philippines—Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, charged Friday with vote rigging, turned from superstar to reviled figure in a spectacular rise and fall through the country’s chaotic brand of democracy.

The daughter of a former president stood down last year after nearly a decade in power during which she oversaw consistent economic growth but also had to stare down coups and impeachment attempts for many alleged corrupt acts.

Now the 64-year-old grandmother could face life in jail on charges of conspiring with a feared political warlord to rig the results of the 2007 senatorial elections.

Arroyo lived in the presidential palace as a teenager after her father, Diosdado Macapagal, became president in 1962.

She earned master’s and doctorate degrees in economics while enjoying a privileged education that included attending Georgetown University in the United States, where she was classmates with future US president Bill Clinton.

She married law student Jose Miguel Arroyo, with whom she had three children, and began her professional career as a teacher in 1977 before accepting a post as junior minister in the trade ministry in 1987.

With a growing appetite for political power, she ran for the Senate in 1992 and gained a record number of votes, partly because she used the cachet of her father’s name.

In a country dominated by celebrity politics, Arroyo also traded on her uncanny resemblance to Nora Aunor, a popular singer and film star.

As senator she expanded her political base to easily win the election for vice president in 1998.

Three years later she deftly outmaneuvered the then-president Joseph Estrada, who faced a people’s uprising for alleged corrupt acts of his own, and then assumed the nation’s leadership when he was ousted from power.

She began her presidency with high approval ratings.

Barely 1.52 meters (five feet) tall, Arroyo had a quick temper, but she got things done, such as fixing chronic national budget shortfalls by having parliament pass unpopular tobacco and liquor “sin” taxes.

But corruption allegations against her soon surfaced, and she faced a military mutiny in 2003 by junior officers who accused her of graft.

Then, after promising she would not contest the 2004 presidential elections, Arroyo ran and won in a highly controversial poll in which she was accused of cheating to narrowly defeat film star Fernando Poe Jr.

In 2006 she survived another uprising from soldiers who were angry over the 2004 elections.

Even though the impoverished country’s economy continued to grow, Arroyo’s popularity ratings relentlessly dropped because of the corruption and electoral fraud allegations. She has repeatedly denied all the charges.

Arroyo was eventually forced to stand down last year, due to constitutional term limits, with a reputation as the least popular leader since the late-dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was overthrown in a revolution in 1986.

Arroyo maintained some political influence by winning a seat in parliament, but she remained the prime target of her successor, Benigno Aquino, who vowed to hold her to account for abuses while in power.