DREAMING A “STRONG REPUBLIC”

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo – trained economist, daughter of former President

Diosdado Macapagal, and veteran politician became head of state, because as a vice
president, the constitution said she was next in line. A succession approved, by the
Supreme Court.

Her careful handling ofo Estrada’s detention/ and she as “pro-poor” /partly
decreases low class anger. Though, during the general election on May 2001, she gain
majority in legislative and local officials. This will not happen without a price, of course. It
does need /compro-miccce/ and dispensing pork barrel funds. Wherein, Non-Government
Organizations (NGO) and Political Organizations (PO)/ where set aside.

Economic recovery was more important and resolution of political crisis results to
positive signs. However, government’s ability to deal with social problems continued to
hamper by debt servicing, which consumed more than one-fourth of national budget in
2002.

Due to Abu Sayyaf kidnapping incident, corruption in AFP’s procurement system

was revealed that leads to corruption investigation in government insurance system,
Department of Justice, and power and waste management sectors.

To dispel the growing impression of weakness, Arroyo announced in her July 2002,
State of the Nation Address (SONA), her goal in building a strong republic.

Arroyo’s anticorruption drives signaled her intent to make the state “autonomous of
dominant classes and sectors, so that it represents the people’s interest. But, critics on the
other side labeled her “strong republic” a ruse to bring dictatorship.

A despondent Arroyo announced on 30th of December that she will not campaign for
her own presidential term in 2004 election. Well, her decision not to run received with
warm pubic support, and her approval ratings began to rise.

The 2004 Election: Machine Politics vs. Media Populism

By November 2003, she accepted the pressure from allies and angered by attacks on
her family, the president announced her decision to “defer” retirement and “offer herself to
the electorate in 2004”.

Four major opponents ran against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, namely:

 Paul Roco – Arroyo’s former secretary of education

 Ponfilo Lacson – the “Law and Order” candidate with murder charges
  Brother Eddie Villanueva – from the Jesus is Lord Movement who became the
‘middle class “protest” candidate
 Fernando Poe Jr. – an aging action movie-star and beginner in politics yet the most
serious challenger

As Poe took an early lead in polls, business leaders, academics and political
commentators feared the worst, the reformist NGOs and Pos become increasingly
irrelevant to the contest. Many of the latter opted to support Arroyo without lobbying for
the conclusion of their agenda into her platform.

Arroyo depended heavily on the electoral machine of her coalition f political allies
nationwide; Poe who had no such machinery used his movie star persona – the quiet hero –
to attract voters. Both candidates chose the proven vote-getters, news anchors and
senators, as their vice presidential running mates and took full advantage of election rules
that allowed the maximum use of all platforms. Oddly enough, Poe turned to be the less
effective one.

Arroyo campaigned vigorously throughout the country, speaking the local language,
reminding voters of the great financial support and development projects they are
providing, exercising political muscles of wavering local officials, and dispensing campaign
funds to local governments. Also, her well-managed attack on Poe’s inexperience and
agreement with CPP helped Arroyo tilt the race in her favor.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was elected by a margin of 1,123,576 votes out
of roughly 25 million, Arroyo then called it “an answered prayer”.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer, writer Bergonia, emphasized media popularity

brought by vice presidential candidate Noli De Castro, a new strategy and very old strategy,
“of a very massive operation to commit fraud”, getting votes in performing magic. Well, this
allegation was vigorously denied by the president office, though many Filipino doubt the
capacity of any successful politician to commit election fraud.

Arroyo’s Challenge: Economic Governance

Gloria Arroyo secured the opportunity to govern for six years, unhampered by the
taint of illegitimacy she faced. Well, her short and medium term priority will be the
economy.

In July 2004, on her State of the Nation Address (SONA), Arroyo labeled the budget
deficit and tax collection the most pressing problems facing the nation. She called business
to “adopt an attitude of tax acceptance” and congress to pass package of tax laws to
increase revenue by P8 million per year. To reduce spending, she promised to demolish
thirty agencies under the office of the president, attack corruption, eliminate redundant
offices and encourage early retirement.

Public reaction was swift, demanding first the government to improve taxes and
second hat congress must eliminate pork barrel – “the most visible symbols of corruption
in government”.

Each representative receives an estimated P10 to P100 million a year and senator
receives about P200 million a year in pork barrel funds. All in all, it will arrive at a mind-
bogging figure of P28 billion a year! True or not, exaggerated or what, it cannot be denied
that ‘pork barrel’ carries with it the unmistakable stench of institutionalized corruption.

The month following Arroyo’s address, a group of prominent university of the

Philippines economist expressed “doubt whether the president’s message has been truly
understood and internalized by the political elite and public.

The UP School of Economics report and argued the imminence of fiscal crisis and the
superficiality and/or wrongheadedness of solutions being discussed. This influential report
was widely disseminated and set agenda for public policy debate at the start of Arroyo’s
term. It made explicit often implicit contract between state and society in is discussion of
causes and proposed solutions.

Well, the fiscal crisis faced by the Philippines in the early twenty-first century
highlights a recurrent pattern that can be traced back to mid-nineteenth century – the need
to improve state capacity in order to cope with economic change. As the year passed,
however, expectations of responsive government grew reformist and radical social forces
protested the skewed distribution of rewards, and the solution grow more complex.