She dispensed with an arrival speech and instead drove straight to Makati Medical Center to check on her granddaughter, who was born while Mrs. Arroyo was attending an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cambodia.
Mikaela Gloria Arroyo was born on Monday to the President’s eldest son Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and wife Angela Montenegro.
"I’m happy. I hope she will grow up as a good servant of the Lord," the President said.
At Room 919 of the hospital, Mrs. Arroyo was met by her children, Mikey and Luli, and her in-law, Rosario Montenegro.
Wearing a blue business dress, Mrs. Arroyo gently held the baby and shooed the cameras away after a few minutes of photo opportunity.
Teased by reporters about her granddaughter following in her footsteps to become a national leader someday, the President said, "I want her what the Lord wants her to be."
Mikey, though a proud and excited new father, was quick to douse speculations on the future of his two-day-old baby daughter and told The STAR yesterday, "Please don’t say that because some might accuse our family again of (perpetuating a) political dynasty!"
An excited Mrs. Arroyo had ordered presidential staff to prepare a playroom at Malacañang Palace, with her son’s old crib to be used by her granddaughter.
The President said she would like her apo to be baptized within one month after her birth. The ceremony is tentatively set on Dec. 4.
Mikey missed his wife’s giving birth to their first child because he was spending time "bonding" with his father, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, and younger brother Dato in San Francisco.
When Angela started to feel labor cramps, Mikey took the first available flight back to Manila and arrived at dawn yesterday. From the airport, Mikey went to the hospital.
"I’ve been in constant communication with (Angela) but she gave birth ahead of schedule," he told The STAR. "I feel very, very happy. It’s like Christmas for me."