Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye Jr. said various sectors, including business groups, have repeatedly asked the opposition to end their disruptive protest actions following the resounding defeat of the impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo in the House of Representatives last week.
"Those who have a thousand and one negative things to say about (the) President and her administration must hold up a mirror to themselves and ask what are the positive and productive things they are doing to effect change," Bunye said.
"Marching in the streets and shouting angry slogans do not count," he said. "Neither do plotting and politicking."
He said that immediately after the House voted overwhelmingly to dismiss the impeachment complaint, the opposition called for street protests and other mass actions designed to oust Mrs. Arroyo at all cost.
Unlike the events that unfolded after the controversial second envelope was not opened during the impeachment trial of deposed President Joseph Estrada in 2001, there was no mass action against Mrs. Arroyo, Bunye said.
Citing the complaints of businessmen, Bunye said the protests continue to adversely affect the economy and investors want all the political noise to cease so that economic initiatives can be pursued.
"Ordinary citizens just want to get on with their lives. This is not to say that they are apathetic. They merely have realized — and rightly so — that any real change will only come from buckling down to work," he said.
He reiterated Mrs. Arroyo’s call that the people must immediately get back to work, "not in the streets but in our offices and industrial centers, in our farms and communities."
Bunye urged the people not to despair over the country’s numerous problems and challenged them to "stop whining, cursing and complaining" as all these would only serve to reinforce the misconception that the nation’s situation is hopeless and the only solution is a change in leadership. — Paolo Romero