Palace: PNoy has no time to debate with Arroyo

President Benigno Aquino III will rather focus on his job than debate with former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who accused the administration of lacking leadership. “Wala siyang balak makipag-debate. Focused siya sa trabaho, na ipatupad ang mga prayoridad na programa," said Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma, referring to Aquino. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ramon Carandang, meanwhile, believes Arroyo was simply trying to divert attention from the way she ran her administration and the various irregularities unraveled during her term. He said Aquino was not annoyed by Arroyo’s tirade, “just surprised at the nerve of GMA (Arroyo’s initials)." Budget Secretary Florencio Abad questioned Arroyo’s claim that her administration turned over a stable economy to Aquino. “The first question that comes to mind is what gains? The people’s gains, or her gains? Prudent expenditure took a back seat to political survival and political patronage during the previous administration," said Abad, who was Education secretary during the Arroyo administration. Abad was among the Cabinet and senior government officials who resigned from the Arroyo government in 2005 at the height of accusations that Arroyo rigged the 2004 elections in her favor. Abad, in a statement, said that the National Food Authority (NFA), for instance, only had some P18 billion worth of obligations in 2001. But when Arroyo left government, the outstanding loans jumped to P176.8 billion. Of this figure, he said P123 billion was incurred from 2008 to 2010 after the previous administration imported more than what the country needed. He also said under the Aquino administration, the rice imports were cut to 860,000 metric tons for the first quarter of 2011, as the government worked at making the country self-sufficient in rice. “The previous administration left us with our largest projected fiscal deficit to date of P325-billion or 3.9 percent of gross domestic product. Is she saying that is sustainable?" he said, adding that when Aquino took over in July 2010, more than 60 percent of the P1.541-trillion national budget of 2010 had already been disbursed the Arroyo administration, leaving it with just 40 percent to survive its first semester in office. — KBK, GMA News