MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Joker Arroyo called on critics to allow president-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III the “honeymoon break” once he assumes the presidency on June 30.
Arroyo said Aquino must be given “elbow room and space” to allow him to focus on actions he would take to manage the country.
“There should be no heckling yet. Give the guy a break,” said Arroyo, who served as executive secretary of Aquino’s mother, the late former President Corazon Aquino.
Arroyo said the country must be “united” now that the elections are over and any conflict should be avoided.
“There is a need for all hands to be on deck,” he said.
Arroyo said it would be easy to make suggestions and play smarter than the others but at the end of the day, “everyone must realize that the problems are awesome.”
Arroyo, however, said it might not be appropriate to call for “political reconciliation” in a democracy since political conflicts are normal during elections.
“It’s not as if we quarreled before and would have to reconcile now. Unity (for the country’s sake) is the better term,” he said.
Aquino had always cited Senator Arroyo’s statement that the Liberal Party was too small that it could fit its members into a Volkswagen.
Aquino and Arroyo had clashing opinions on various issues as colleagues in the Senate.
Now that Aquino has been proclaimed as the next president, Senator Arroyo said there must be healing of the nation’s wounds.
He said Aquino had a clean mandate from the people that would give the country a good start in achieving stability.
“It’s a welcome change,” Sen. Arroyo said.
The senator said past conflicts must be set aside because “it’s easy to thrive in conflicts, it is difficult to push for positive approach.”
For his part, Aquino said he would have to assess first the claims of President Arroyo of leaving a legacy of hard work and a strong economy.
“Can I just answer that come July 1 when we have already assessed what the figures are? Where we are and where we want to go,” Aquino told reporters.