MANILA, Philippines - Former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo criticized President Aquino for bashing his wife, former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, saying it was “in very poor taste.”
“It’s revolting, hitting a sick lady, a total turnoff,” Arroyo said in a telephone interview yesterday, referring to his wife, who is currently detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City for alleged plunder of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds.
“He’s been in office for five years, and he keeps on hitting her, using her as a prop, a trophy because he’s done nothing after five years,” he added.
Arroyo believed the outgoing administration has not abandoned the “hate campaign” it has found effective in getting Aquino elected in 2010.
Aquino started his SONA by enumerating the alleged scams and scandals during the Arroyo administration, and blaming her for the various problems he faced when he assumed office.
Detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada also took exception to Aquino’s mention of the arrest and detention of three senators tagged in the pork barrel scam as part of the outgoing administration’s intensified campaign against corruption.
“I take exception to the President’s choice of highlighting the case of the three senators to demonstrate supposed strides in its anti-corruption campaign. Our case is not a product of a relentless anti-corruption drive as it was proudly presented to be, but an unfortunate result of selective justice and political persecution,” Estrada said in a press statement from Camp Crame, where he and Sens. Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr. are now detained.
Estrada decried anew the apparent special treatment given to personalities allied with the administration, who got off the hook on corruption charges.
“If the government is truly and sincerely waging an all-out war against corruption, it should not hesitate in investigating and prosecuting even its own allies who are considered architects, perpetrators and main beneficiaries of misuse and unlawful disbursement of public funds,” he said.
The three lawmakers are facing plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan. Estrada said the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation continue to fail to file charges against other lawmakers tagged in pork barrel misuse by going through a “slow-paced” probe, in sharp contrast to the “haste” in the inquiry against the three senators last year.
“The problem is only the three of us were targeted. When they got us jailed, they lost interest in filing the third batch of cases. So, singling out the case of three senators in the alleged PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scam is not an achievement to be proud of. It may actually be a low point for this administration as it continues to coddle erring allies and continue to only persecute members of the opposition,” Estrada said.
He also cautioned the administration against painting him and his two colleagues as already guilty of the charges.
“Being in detention does not mean being convicted by the courts, much less proven guilty as charged. I will continue to fight my case before the Sandiganbayan and prove my innocence, as I am confident that justice will be on my side,” he said.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Monday defended Aquino’s tone, saying he was only making comparisons.
But for Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Public Affairs Committee (CBCP-PAC) chairman, the SONA can be summed up in one word – propaganda.
“It was not a State of the Nation Address. I was hoping the SONA would describe the state of the country, but it turned out to be his propaganda on what he has accomplished. How about the state of the nation? How are we doing now and what else has to be done?” the bishop said.
Pabillo added that anyone not well aware of what is happening in the country might think that the Philippines is in paradise after hearing the SONA.
He is also dismayed that Aquino continued his blame-game when he had five years to correct the mistakes of his predecessor.
The prelate was saddened that Aquino opted to say nothing on his plans for the poor, Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, agrarian reform, the tragic Mamasapano massacre, or the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
“There was no mention of the Mamasapano incident, not even a sorry. At least former President Arroyo said ‘sorry’ (in the ‘Hello, Garci’ controversy),” Pabillo added.
Rohermina Asjali, mother of Special Action Force (SAF) police trooper Jerz-in Asjali, said she was dismayed to find that Aquino did not even mention the bravery of the 44 officers who were “murdered” by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in January.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said Aquino missed out on the pressing issue of illegal drugs that is plaguing the country, giving the latter a 7/10 rating.
He believes the President should have tackled more serious issues like peace and order and the upsurge in the number of Filipino youths either hooked on drugs or involved in drug-peddling activities.
Former UAE ambassador, labor relations chairman and now OFW-Family party-list Rep. Roy Señeres claimed Aquino continued to disregard the plight of 15 million contractual workers laid off by employers every five months and the 12 million jobless Filipinos, just as the President also failed to directly pay tribute to the overseas Filipino workers who continue to stabilize the economy by sending billions of dollars home. – With Christina Mendez, Ben Serrano, Evelyn Macairan, Edith Regalado, Artemio Dumlao, Eva Visperas, Janvic Mateo, Danny Dangcalan, Czeriza Valencia, Roel Pareño