Imee: Gloria suffering from ‘SARS’

Beware: SARS is in the country and may be mutating into various strains as you read this. It reportedly has affected even President Arroyo.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos said yesterday she will be spending the Holy Week praying for the speedy recovery of the President from SARS, not the flu-like sickness, but what she coined "Sobrang Aprub at Respeto sa States."

"I really hope that (the President) will recover and eventually get rid of SARS," Marcos said. "The Arabs are probably thinking that all of us Filipinos think the way (she) does."

She also joked that while Mrs. Arroyo may get rid of SARS, she also should stay clear of the other "varieties like the US (strain) Superpower ang Regard sa Sarili and (Iraqi leader) Saddam Hussein’s Si Allah ang Real Superpower."

Marcos said reports indicate that millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East are now beginning to feel the backlash from Mrs. Arroyo’s all-out support for the US-led war against Iraq.

There are about 1.5 million OFWs in the Middle East, and Marcos said it would be catastrophic for the economy if many of them would be displaced because of the backlash of the war.

She added that the recent bombings in Davao City also appear to be done in retaliation for the government’s support for the war.