Arroyo's intention to step down ‘clear’ in SONA - Mikey

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday should put to rest speculations that she will not step down from office next year, her son said Tuesday. Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo said his mother's critics would never listen to her "because they already pre-judged her as wrong." "The President has said very clearly that she's stepping down next year but she will continue to govern until the last minute of her presidency. It's so clear. What part in the English dictionary do they (critics) not understand?" Rep. Arroyo told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. The lawmaker added that even though Mrs. Arroyo did not categorically tackle a transition to a new government in her SONA, her spokespersons had been repeatedly talking about a change in the administration after the May 2010 elections. For his part, Presidential Management Staff head Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said critics should not demand from Mrs. Arroyo a categorical statement that there would be a new administration come June 2010. "Kailangan pa bang sabihin na (is there a need for her to say) 'I will step down'? They should know that," Esperson said in a separate phone interview. Esperon had served as Mrs. Arroyo's military chief and commander of the Presidential Security Group. Administration and opposition lawmakers, as well as a number of political analysts, had pointed out that Mrs. Arroyo did not make a categorical statement about her plans in 2010 during her ninth SONA. Two previous presidents – Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos – had made it clear that they would relinquish power during their respective last SONAs. "On June 30, 1992, the traditional ceremony of political succession will unfold at the Luneta. The last time it was done that way was in 1965. I shall be there with you to proudly witness the event," Mrs. Aquino had said in 1991. Ramos had said: "I will be working and governing -- you will all feel and hear and see me working and governing as your president -- until I turn over the presidency to the 13th president of the republic at high noon on 30 June 1998." Where'd she get the figures? But while the SONA had fueled speculations of Mrs. Arroyo’s alleged intention to cling on to power beyond 2010, economist Solita Collas-Monsod said what must be given attention is the statistics the President mentioned in her yearly report. Monsod, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines, said in a television interview that while Mrs. Arroyo accomplished many economic feats under her term, the basis of the poverty and employment figures she cited in her report were unclear. In her SONA, Mrs. Arroyo said the number of poor people in the country was reduced by 2 million despite an increase in the population. Monsod said there was "no way" that was possible. "All the government data say that poverty increased by almost three million people," she said. Data also shows that only about 700,000 jobs a year were created in recent years, and not an average of 1 million as stated by Mrs. Arroyo, Monsod said. "That's a far cry from one million," said Monsod, adding that she had repeatedly checked where Mrs. Arroyo might have gotten the figures after listening to the SONA. (Monsod's more detailed analysis of Mrs. Arroyo's performance over the years can be found in her blog.) Esperon, whose office handles the technical report on Mrs. Arroyo's SONA, said he would still have to verify Monsod's claims. - GMANews.TV