While many people would not even bat an eyelash in naming Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the worst president the Philippines have ever had; it would be a bit myopic to suggest that her term didn’t usher in developments that helped the country greatly.
Now that I think about it, most people really appreciate the Marcos Era for the amount of infrastructure that were erected during his tenure – the reclamation of huge swathes of Manila Bay, the Folk Arts Theater, the Cultural Center of The Philippines and the Light Rail Transit system. Many would remember Ferdinand Marcos as a scheming power-hungry dictator who crushed enemies mercilessly; but most would generally concede that the did some things right. Most would go as far as saying that his first term as President was a fairly admirable effort.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not get the same merciful treatment. You will probably not find a good number of GMA apologists outside of her town in Pampanga. While many people voted for her during the 2004 elections, the vote for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was either of the three:
1. a vote against Fernando Poe Jr and Joseph Estrada; FPJ was likable, but the memories of EDSA Dos and Erap were still very fresh.
2. a vote for the status quo. the government was really fragile back then.
3. a last-minute vote change because there was no way that Panfilo Lacson, Raul Roco and Eddie Villanueva won’t be winning anyway.
And oh, she allegedly cheated.
What are the best things that GMA has done for the country then?
Here are the few things that I could come up with. Feel free to add to the list.
The Strong Republic Nautical Highway will go down as Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s greatest contirbution to the Philippine Economy during her term. This network of barges and ferries that allows buses and other vehicles to literally roll on and roll off islands and key cities across the archipelago. For a nation separated by bodies of water, this project certainly improved the efficiency of the transport of goods and people.
The …
Actually, that’s the only thing I can think of.
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for me, Strong Republic Nautical Highway is wala lang… andyan na yan nung bata pa ako eh..i guess di lang sya na highlights..the good thing is na improve lng xa cguro..its not a big deal for me..
but you have to consider that state those highways… the one via samar and leyte is full of potholes
being able to uplift the economy and the way that she presented our nation to other sovereign states.
also i like the idea of super regions
I agree. Also, she remains strong in spite of all the negative critics.