President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday said she has never expressed the desire to extend her term beyond 2010, but did not categorically state that she would not seek any other elective post next year.

She also did not respond to calls to put a stop to Charter Change in her ninth State of the Nation Address, which she began with a prayer for former President Corazon Aquino, who is battling colon cancer.

Her critics have raised fears that, with a shift towards a parliamentary form of government through Cha-Cha, Arroyo could run for a congressional seat and become prime minister.

“I never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term. Many of those who accuse me of it tried to cling like nails to their posts,” Arroyo said.

“At the end of this speech, I shall step down from this stage but not from the presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino, the nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state to the very last day,” she said.

On calls against Cha-cha, the president said “The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.”

In her 54-minute speech that was applauded 126 times, Arroyo outlined the economic gains of her administration and hit back at her critics.

REACTIONS

Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra, in reaction to the gains outlined by the President, said “I think that the people know that all of these are just propaganda, they don’t have proof in reality. The people will judge for themselves.”

Rep. Julio Ledesma (Neg. Occ., 1st District) said he has seen better and worse SONAs than the one delivered by Arroyo yesterday. “I expected more and was prepared for less. I guess, in golf, you could call it par game.”

“The report of the president to the nation was excellent. The best performing president we ever had... Others who want to be president should take her advice,” Rep. Alfredo Marañon III (Neg.  Occ., 2nd District) said.

“I believe the SONA was factual but not believable to critics, which is understandable. The fact remains she was able to cushion the effects of the world economic crisis due to fundamental economic policies in place, no matter how unpopular,” Rep. Jose Carlos Lacson (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said, referring to the Value-Added Tax.

“It’s the best SONA message. She answered her critics and she presented her accomplishment report,” the president’s brother-in-law, Rep. Ignacio Arroyo (Neg. Occ., 5th District), said.

Rep. Genaro Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) said the president delivered a very good SONA, pointing out that under her presidency his district has received more projects from government compared to the last three presidents all together.

“Since she’s a professor in economics, the emphasis was on the survival of the global crisis and we expected that. What   surprised most of us were the hidden hurts she poured out this time in going out fighting. That was the highlight on her human side. Sometimes it’s good to let it out,” Bacolod Rep. Moncio Puentevella said.

Gov. Isidro Zayco said he agrees with the president when she said the country has not been as gravely affected by the global economic crisis compared to other countries because of economic reforms she has put in place.

ARROYO HITS BACK

In her SONA, Arroyo said that while she is accused of misgovernance, many of those who accuse her of it left her with the   problem of their misgovernance to solve, which she did.

She also said she has been falsely accused of using her office for personal profit.

“Many of those who accuse me of it have lifestyles and spending habits that make them walking proofs of that crime,” she said.

“I did not become President to be popular,” she said, “but to work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country to be ready for the first world in 20 years.”

The strong, bitter and unpopular revenue measures of the past few years have spared the country the worst of the global financial shocks, she said.

STRONG ECONOMY

“They gave us the resources to stimulate the economy,” Arroyo pointed out

Today “the state of the nation is a strong economy,” she said. “Good news for our people, bad news for critics.”

She pointed out that her administration has had “the highest average rate of growth, recording multiple increases in investments, with the largest job creation in history, and which gets a credit upgrade at the height of a world recession.”

“In 2008 up to the first quarter of 2009 we stood among only a few economies in Asia-Pacific that did not shrink,” she said.

“Compare this in 2001, when some of my current critics were driven out by people power, Asia was then surging but our country was on the brink of bankruptcy,” she said, in apparent reference to former President Joseph Estrada.

CHEAPER MEDICINE

Arroyo also said her efforts prodded the pharmaceutical companies to come up with low-cost generics and brands like RiteMed.

“I supported the tough version of the House of the Cheaper Medicine Law. I supported it over the weak version of my critics. The result: the drug companies volunteered to bring down drug prices, slashing by half the prices of 16 drugs,” she said.

Pursuant to law, she said she is placing other drugs under a maximum retail price.

“To those who want to be President, this advice: If you want something done, do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Just do it. Don't say bad words in public,” she said in an apparent jibe at Senator Mar Roxas.

NEW SIN TAXES

She said government will also work to increase tax efforts through improved collections and new sin taxes to further the country’s capacity to reduce poverty and pursue growth.

“Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco and not from books. Tax hazards to lungs and livers, do not tax minds,” she said.

Defending her foreign trips, the president said “Our vigorous international engagement has helped bring in foreign investment. Net foreign direct investments multiplied 15 times during our administration.”

ON THE ELECTIONS

The president said that as the campaign unfolds and the candidates take to the airwaves, “I ask them to talk more about how they will build up the nation rather than tear down their opponents.”

“Our candidates must understand the complexities of our government and what it takes to move the country forward. Give the electorate real choices and not just sweet talk,” she said.

The president said she has never done any of the things that have scared her worst critics so much. “They are frightened by their own shadows,” she said.

MARTIAL LAW

She also pointed out that she has never declared martial law, despite threats in the past to her administration.

She said that, in truth, what her critics “are really afraid of is their weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat.”

“I will defend democracy with arms when it is threatened by violence; with firmness when it is weakened by division; with law and order where it is subverted by anarchy; and always, I will try to sustain it by wise policies of economic progress, so that a democracy means not just an empty liberty but a full life for all,” she said.*CPG

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