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Palace ready for long word war vs Arroyo, allies


The kid gloves are off. Malacañang on Saturday declared itself ready for a verbal slugfest with former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies. “Matagal na natin sinasalag ang banat ng kaalyado ni dating Pangulong Arroyo, at katulad ng pinakita natin kahapon, handang handa tayo," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on state-run dzRB radio. Valte also needled Arroyo and her allies for resorting only to generalizations. “Sila nga nagbibigay ng generalizations, [but] we come up with specific answers," she said. On Friday, Arroyo scored the Aquino administration for supposedly not building on the gains of her administration, but eroding them instead. Arroyo said she has left behind a robust economy cultivated through 10 years of uninterrupted growth. The economy, she added, is still benefiting today from that “sustainable growth." “The economy that I left for my successor was very strong at the time when there was a global crisis. Now when the rest of Asia is recovering, our economy is decelerating and that is the problem," she was quoted as saying. However, Malacañang said it finds Arroyo’s statements “unsurprising." “Despite her glaring absence from proceedings inquiring into her culpability and accountability as President, she has found time to try to obtain media mileage [amid] the current weather disturbance," Valte said in a statement Friday. Tropical storm Falcon was in Philippine territory at the time Arroyo invited media for a rare gathering and press briefing in Lubao — Arroyo’s hometown. Valte pointed out that Arroyo wants to be “treated" as a former President when everyone does not give her due courtesy as the former chief executive. “She seems to confuse official courtesy with the hallmark of her stay in power, impunity. We believe that her press conference was merely a ploy to deflect attention from her refusing to submit to proper procedures for ascertaining accountability," Valte said. “We regret that instead of focusing on her constituents’ needs at this time, she is trying to hog the headlines in a gambit to distract attention from her past deeds," Valte added. Nobody home? In her Saturday radio interview, Valte said the Aquino administration is continuing the programs of its predecessor, but only those that “work." She also sought to turn the tables on Arroyo’s assessment of Aquino’s leadership as “nobody home." Valte said there is “nothing left at home" because most of the government funds were gone. Valte pointed out that the calamity fund for 2010 was almost totally depleted in the second half of the year. “Ginastos sa bagay na hindi related sa calamity fund," she said, adding the depletion of the calamity fund was just “the tip of the iceberg." “Cabinet secretaries will tell you horror stories ng kawalan ng naabutan namin," she said. Valte said Arroyo may be right if her claim of “nobody home" applies to those in the Palace taking or giving bribes. She said there is no one in Malacañang under the Aquino administration paying off political allies in exchange for votes or calling up election commissioners. “Kung ‘yan ang tinutukoy nila, tama yan. Nobody is home to do that. ‘Pag apak ni Pangulong Aquino sa Malacañang noong June 30, there was nobody home to do that," she said. Valte also questioned Arroyo on what “danger signs" the Aquino administration is facing. She said that in the first year under the Aquino administration, hunger incidence went down and the economy got upgraded assessments from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings. “Yan ba danger signs? Sa amin hindi, it’s a sign [that] our policies are working," according to Valte. ‘Long-term fiscal efforts’ Valte also contested Arroyo’s claim that the Aquino administration is benefiting from her administration’s fiscal efforts, saying those should have been felt during her nine years in power. “We were under her helm for nine years. If it were really traceable partly to [Arroyo’s] effort it would have come during [her] nine years," she said. — JE, GMA News

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