Erap spokeswoman slams selection of GMA in Forbes list

MANILA, Philippines – A spokesperson for former President Joseph Estrada said yesterday that “it would have been an honor for the country for its president to have been named among the world’s most powerful political leaders if the power represented was one that stood for integrity, justice, progress and truth.”

Margaux Salcedo, Estrada’s spokesperson, was reacting to the naming of President Arroyo in the list of 100 Most Powerful Women by the prestigious Forbes Magazine,

“When former President (Corazon Aquino) made the cover of Time Magazine two decades ago, she stood for democracy, and we were regarded with respect by the international community,” she said.

“Today, however, Arroyo is described in Forbes Magazine as the most powerful woman in the second most corrupt country in Asia. This is what Arroyo stands for today in the eyes of the international community and is more telling of the dangers than of the dignity of her office.”

In naming Mrs. Arroyo among the most powerful women, Forbes Magazine said: “After donning the mantle of president in 2001, Arroyo tried to work diligently on her governing platform, which includes the eradication of poverty, which helped her win re-election in 2004.

“Arroyo, 58, is now fighting to hold on to her job as the opposition party seeks to file impeachment charges against her over a series of scandals, and her attempts to fix Manila’s weak finances are falling apart, causing frustrated technocrats to bolt from her government,” it said.

“Despite a growing economy (in 2004, the Philippine economy grew an estimated 6.1 percent, up from 4.7 percent in 2003), Arroyo’s stewardship has been burdened by a Muslim insurgency and the Philippines’ designation as the second most corrupt country in Asia, according to a survey of businessmen conducted by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy,” it added.

Arroyo, a former classmate of Bill Clinton’s at Georgetown University and a one-time economics professor, is “currently under investigation by lawmakers on allegations she cheated to win last year’s election, and (she) has declined to testify before her government’s Congress.”