Gloria doesn’t mind ‘labandera’ tag

The "Gloria, Gloria Labandera" ditty that became the marching song of EDSA III amused rather than irked President Arroyo.

Mrs. Arroyo finally broke her silence yesterday on the spoof on the anthem of the American Revolution, Glory, Glory Alleluia, that was meant to ridicule her, saying she is in fact proud that washing clothes runs in the family.

Her paternal grandmother, the mother of the late President Diosdado Macapagal, washed clothes to earn extra income for the family in Lubao, Pampanga. Because of this, the President said she does not at all feel insulted if she is called a labandera or laundrywoman.

"They were saying ‘Gloria labandera’ as an insult. I thought they were pro-poor? Why are they now insulting the labandera?" she asked.

Adlibbing from her prepared speech before a civic group at Malacañang yesterday, Mrs. Arroyo said: "But they are really telling the truth because I come from a family of labandera. I respect the labandera and I am proud to be from a family of labandera."

So long as they don’t use Ping Lacson detergent.

She pointed out that of all past presidents of the republic, only her father can truly claim to have come from the ranks of the poor.

"And it is only my father who came from the sector of poor peasants," she said. Macapagal, in his time, was known as the "Poor Boy from Lubao."

Mrs. Arroyo herself though was raised in comfort and studied in exclusive schools, while her husband, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo comes from the Tuason landed gentry of old rich.

Estrada camp insiders, though, said that the labandera reference was meant more as a dig at her own allegedly "money-laundering" activities.

Two past presidents, on the other hand, had monickers after fish: Corazon Aquino was taunted as "Galunggong," and Fidel Ramos was put down as "Talakitok." – Marichu Villanueva