GMA: Filipinos need good governance, moral foundation

Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the Philippines needs good governance based on sound moral standards if it is to move forward.

Addressing a gathering of Filipino-American Communication Employees in San Ramon, California last Monday, Macapagal said good intentions are not enough without good governance.

"Through good governance can we win the struggle of today against poverty, and in time, tomorrow's struggle to find the Filipino nation's proper place within the 21st century," she stressed.

"The proper framing of our national agenda is only half of the battle. The other half consists of the determined and effective implementation of the agenda, and in this respect, the key is good governance," Arroyo added.

She also said good governance rests on a policy of transparency in all government actions, as well as ethics for effective implementation of programs and policies in the bureaucracy.

"This is not too much to ask for...the people have a right to good governance," Arroyo said.

She added that only through effective administration can the country win the struggle against mass poverty, which is a centerpiece of the Estrada administration.

In her speech, Arroyo identified a four-point agenda for national development under the Estrada administration. These are s policy of free enterprise for the private sector, a co-equal social component to the economic development plan, equity and modernization of the agriculture sector and improvement of moral standards in both the government and the society.

To seize the opportunities of the new millennium, Arroyo said the government must always uphold the rule of law, meaning promoting accountability and transparency, and pursuing reforms "aimed at stamping out graft and corruption."

"Transparency and integrity are not only an important aid to seizing the opportunities of the new millennium of globalization, but are an integral part of the good life that we seek for the people," the Vice President said.

She added that integrity in the government and in society is highly relevant to economic and social development of the country.

Arroyo dared the Filipino expatriates to help push the economic development of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, a broad organization of medical practitioners joined yesterday the snowballing clamor for the resignation of Mr. Estrada as they made a mock diagnosis of his alleged maladies.

The Health Sector Against Tyranny and Corruption/Cronyism/Charter Change (HATAC) claiming a membership of some 10,000 doctors, nurses, physical therapists and other medical practitioners, made public the result of their diagnosis of the President's "political health."

HATAC claimed that among Mr. Estrada's ailments was "hypertestosteronism," referring to his liaisons with several women, resulting in "offsprings and mistresses who have no qualms about abusing the President's power to put themselves into position to live off the people's wealth."

"His reproductive system is over-used," said Mildred Hebia, an officer of the Health Students' Forum. "If we had a choice, we'd lop it off."

Hebia assailed the alleged involvement of the First Family in a multimillion fund mess at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office as a symptom of this illness.

She also said Mr. Estrada failed to provide the youth with a good role model. "Look at the cavalier way in which he treats our women...how he expresses his sexism in speech after speech. His conduct only shows his lack of statesmanship."

The student leader said the President should be placed in an isolation ward and quarantined "to keep him away from women."

HATAC said Mr. Estrada was also suffering from "encephalitis secondary to globus imperius americanus with concomitant alcoholic intoxication."

The group attributed it to the President's pro-liberalization policies dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).

Dr. Joseph Carabeo, secretary general of the Health Alliance for Democracy, described Mr. Estrada as "mentally misdirected and psychologically incapacitated to govern his country."

Carabeo, who wore a physician's green smock, white cap and mask marked "Oust Erap-US" to the breakfast forum, said Mr. Estrada's slurred speech and drooping eyelids indicated an "alcohol-soaked brain."

He added that the President was also afflicted with toxicity from alcohol and political power, leading him to have "delusions of grandeur."

"Despite the overwhelming evidence of his plunging popularity, he still believes he is the idol of the masses," Carabeo said.- With Romel Bagares, Mayen Jaymalin