Arroyo says political noise won’t affect her

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday said no amount of political noise, including the impeachment complaint filed against her last week could make her lose her concentration on effective economic governance. “Walang anomang ingay-pulitikal ang makakapigil sa atin sa pagpapatupad ng mga importanteng inisyatibo para makagawa ng mga negosyong kumikita at makapagbigay ng milyun-milyong trabaho sa ating mga kababayan (No amount of political noise will stop us from implementing initiatives for businesses to thrive and provide millions of jobs to our countrymen)," Arroyo said at the launching of the Go Negosyo Caravan at the Bren Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga. She said the Go Negosyo caravan, which has already reached Baguio, Cebu, Bacolod and Manila, would help in making three million entrepreneurs by 2010, which was a promise she made during her 2004 inaugural address. She said she was standing firm in her commitment to provide the new entrepreneurs loans and help them in becoming good managers, adding that “the current benign, stable growth conditions are likely to spark a wave of entrepreneurial activity in the Philippines." “We continue empowering our people so they may be able to grab these opportunities. And Go Negosyo will not only empower them, but inspire them to get into the exciting world of entrepreneurship," she said. In Malacañang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye told reporters that “every time the nation takes two steps forward on its path to economic growth and political stability, President Arroyo’s detractors try to take us three steps back." “The latest impeachment saga is just another distraction that the President will ignore….The people of the nation are sick and tired of too much politics," he added. Also, Cerge Remonde, presidential management staff director general, said the impeachment complaint was just a waste of time and taxpayers’ money. “The President will not allow it to distract us from the more important business of running the country, growing the economy, and winning the peace to set the stage for total national development," he said. Remonde was also confident that the impeachment complaint would not cause a rift between Arroyo and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. He also denied that Malacañang had something to do with the impeachment case that was filed by lawyer Roberto Rafael “Roel" Pulido last Friday, and endorsed by Laguna Rep. Edgar San Luis of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino. “Of course it is not true. We will not do such thing, we will not do anything that will contribute to the political noise," Remonde said. For his part, Sergio Antonio Apostol, chief presidential legal counsel, dismissed claims that the latest impeachment bid against the President might result in a political crisis. “Wala itong political crisis. Tingnan mo iyong opposition ayaw silang sumama. Tapos itong si (Pasay Rep. Roilo) Golez sabi niya may gulo. Wala iyan… Politics is a game of intrigue…Golez is just intriguing," he said. - GMANews.TV