Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye told the government-run Radyo ng Bayan yesterday that the country could again be perceived as corrupt if candidates associated with detained former President Joseph Estrada are elected.
Bunye was reacting to the 2004 Global Corruption Report of the United Kingdom-based Transparency International which listed former presidents Estrada and Ferdinand Marcos as among the top 10 most corrupt leaders in the past two decades.
"We hope that we will not go back to that kind of state because we are worried that the former President has people who are trying to (make a) comeback through these elections," he said.
"Hopefully we have already learned from the lessons of the past years so that there will be no repeat of what happened during the time of President Erap," he added.
Estrada has endorsed the candidacy of friend and fellow actor Fernando Poe Jr. and other Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino bets.
In an interview over Radio ng Bayan Iligan City, President Arroyo also criticized her predecessor, particularly on the issue of the National Steel Corp. (NSC).
The President noted that the NSC was closed down during Estrada’s term because of a personal conflict with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
"It was difficult for me (to do) but I was able to bring back the faith of Malaysia in our country," she said.
Mrs. Arroyo said that it was through her diplomatic dealings with Mahathir that the Malaysian firm involved with the NSC agreed to reduce its equity even without any return of capital.
The firm’s equity in the NSC was sold to Indian steel maker Global Infrastructure Holdings Ltd., which resulted in the reopening of the NSC.
"But if the friends of Estrada will win, these new investors will not push through with their investments," she said.
She said that an additional $1 billion will be invested in the NSC, but only if she wins because the investors "have no faith in the friends of President Estrada."
Mrs. Arroyo has in the past indirectly criticized Poe’s candidacy with remarks about the country’s possible return to the "dark ages" if the actor wins the elections.