Govt website pays tribute to Arroyo on her birthday

Former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo celebrated her 64th birthday on Tuesday, April 5, and believe it or not, the official website of the Office of the President paid her a tribute. On that day, one of the slides posted on the Official Gazette showed a photo of a smiling Mrs. Arroyo. Although there was no birthday greeting, her name and birth date, April 5, 1947, was indicated on the slide. The post also recognized her as the “Fourth President of the Fifth Republic" whose term started on January 20, 2001 and ended June 30, 2010. Asked on this post, Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, said it was a standard operating procedure (SOP) to greet a former President.

“I guess that’s part of the normal course, there is some recognition of a former president’s birthday regardless…I guess that’s standard, SOP lang yan," he said. Asked if Malacañang sent an official greeting to Mrs. Arroyo, Carandang said he was not aware of any. Asked on his greeting to the former president, he said, “I would simply say happy birthday. President Benigno Aquino III, who succeeded Mrs. Arroyo, has been very critical of her administration. In some of his speeches, he blamed Mrs. Arroyo and the alleged corruption in her administration for the current problems and suffering of the Filipino people. - Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMA News