My friend from the Middle East

Last week, my friend Lebanese journalist Baria Alamuddin, foreign editor of highly regarded Al-Hayat, was in Manila to interview President GMA. I first met her in London during the EDSA People Power Revolution. Since then we have been friends taking extraordinary interest in each of our countries, I for Lebanon (well, really all of the Middle East) and she for the Philippines.

It was through her that I met movers and shakers in the Middle East including the late Saddam Hussein. Baria has interviewed every Philippine president since the February revolution from President Cory to President GMA.

She interviewed President GMA when she was vice-president. In this interview she focused on her valedictory as president of the Philippines for nine years. Western and local media portray her as the most unpopular president of the Philippines but this is not the whole picture. She may be unpopular but as she has said she did not become President to be popular. She pushed many unpopular measures to put the country in the right direction.

The job is unfinished but in our presidential system the centerpiece of democracy are elections no matter how counter productive. It forecloses on stability and continuity that would have been possible if we had a parliamentary system.

She ends her administration with a high note of 7.3% GDP in first quarter of the year, one of the highest in decades when she bows out. That is the benchmark that the incoming administration will have to match.

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I will excerpt only key points of the interview.

On what she will do come June 30, 1 p.m.

 I will probably take my oath of office as congresswoman of my district. Yes, because as my term as president ends, my term as congresswoman begins... So, work as usual.

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What do you want to be remembered for?

I am honored to have been able to serve the country as President of the Philippines. I am gratified that we have been able to make improvements on a wide range of fronts. The Philippines today is very different from the Philippines that I have inherited nine years ago. And let’s start from the most recent achievement, the automated elections that we had for the first time in history. So this has been something that has empowered our people in a democratic society in ways that were never possible before.

Now it’s not only the people who are safe and secure, the economy is also stronger. We’ve been able to survive quite well the global economic crisis. We’ve been able to invest in new and modern infrastructure that will make our country more competitive. We’ve been able to create millions of new jobs, provide health and education services to millions who did not have access to them before.

We’re also meeting our fiscal obligations. So we have achieved a great deal, I believed, although more remains to be done.

What about the suspected rigging and criticisms on continuing poverty?

There is a process for finding out whether the allegations are true or not. As far as the country’s poor is concerned, at least during my administration we graduated from being one of the poor countries to being a middle-income country.

On the Muslim problem in Mindanao

This is not a question of one religion versus another. It is a question of peace in Mindanao. Mindanao is poised for peace whether it will be achieved very soon or not, remains to be seen. The efforts over the last nine years have brought us closer to achieving lasting peace in the region. We have had a working ceasefire since 2003. Sure, it’s been broken by skirmishes, but never a major break in that ceasefire... We’ve broken down barriers by encouraging people to concentrate on building better lives not on destroying lives. We’ve done this through the use of “soft power” by building or providing economic opportunity, healthcare, education, basic necessities like water, food, housing for the people of Mindanao...What I think is needed now is recognition by all parties that this working ceasefire should be translated into a political settlement so that peace will be just and long lasting and permanent. 

Her visits to Arab countries

Relations are very strong. First of all, we have millions of Filipinos who live and work in the Arab world. We have a mutual interest in having good labor relations.

Secondly, the Arab world is a key element to support our peace process. We’re very grateful for the Arab community giving diplomatic, material and moral support to our quest for a comprehensive and long lasting peace in Mindanao.

Thirdly, the Arab countries have become a very important source of foreign direct investment. My visits to the many Arab countries including Saudi, Bahrain, UAE, Libya have brought these about... One of the key elements of my foreign policy has been strengthening our relations with our Arab brethren.

Al-Qaeda in your country

 If Al-Qaeda is here their presence is limited. The Abu Sayyaf group that operates in Mindanao like to say they have Al-Qaeda links. But they’re really not much more than a hated criminal gang. The Philippines has been a leader in the fight against global terrorism.

Relations with ASEAN

We have a timetable, 2015. In fact, it was supposed to be 2020 but when we had the ASEAN Summit here in the Philippines, we moved it forward to 2015. ASEAN has really made significant progress towards integrating our economies, bringing down trade barriers even having macroeconomics... more control over our macroeconomics of our country with our agreements on the Chang Mai Initiative and the surveillance system in order to avoid being contaminated by the global economic crisis.

One of the eight points of my foreign policy was that more and more our foreign policy should be done in the context of ASEAN. 

Do you see yourself becoming another... first prime minister of the Philippines?

I’ve always left my political career to what we call divine providence in my religion and maybe kismet in your culture. So what will be will be. But right now, until the last minute of my term as president I have to work for the country.