GMA bewails political backstabbing

CEBU CITY — In a fighting mood, President Arroyo criticized what she described as "back-stabbing" and "destructive politics" for pulling down the country’s economic gains, though she vowed not to be distracted — especially in the face of an "oil shock" caused by the surge in oil prices.

The President’s statement came as Congress began investigating the allegedly wiretapped conversations between her and former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in which she and Garcillano purportedly discussed cheating in the May 2004 elections to ensure Mrs. Arroyo’s victory.

The President addressed the people in Badian, Cebu, saying it is not yet the right time for her to talk about the taped conversations.

She also complained the supposedly wiretapped recordings were part of destabilization attempts against her in Manila, adding that she will just continue with her work.

At the ceremony, she switched on the $5-million electrification project at the Talayong Elementary School in Badian servicing over 200 barangays in the Visayas.

The President also reportedly met with Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, but there was no chance to confirm this with her after she attended Mass at the Pink Sisters chapel here and announced the release of overseas Filipino worker Robert Tarongoy by his Iraqi captors.

The President said she will not be defeated and vowed to break "the cycle of division, destructive politics, tax evasion and a back-stabbing political environment which perpetuates the status quo."

During her speech, the President kept pounding the rostrum as she asked politicians to end their bickering and be united for the people.

Mrs. Arroyo said she never cheated and that she is the real winner of the 2004 presidential race. According to the President, her detractors are desperate to oust her because their opportunity to do so is "now or never."

"It is no coincidence that my opponents came after me within days of completion of the first phase of our economic reform plan and within hours of our credit rating outlook upgrade," she said. "It’s an age-old game in the Philippines, they’ve been doing it to me for four years — where keeping the nation divided for political purposes has worked.

"We cannot make it work anymore, we must put a stop to it," the President said. "We have the challenge of the oil price shock, the challenges are daunting. It’s not the time to bicker."

The President thanked those who expressed support for her and asked for more: "We have to inject in our national consciousness the bigger picture of national survival."

She said the "oil shock" is a matter of national survival and should be carefully addressed: "If we’re able to work on the oil shock and we’re able to work on Phase 2 of economic reforms, then we’ll able to bring about sustainable growth and development."