GMA must come clean, says Escudero

President Arroyo should come clean like boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and answer the election fraud allegations hounding her since last year to show if she won the 2004 presidential election fair and square, House of Representatives’ Minority Leader Francis Escudero said yesterday.

Senators, meanwhile, had mixed opinions about the President’s State of the Nation Address last Monday in which she unveiled a massive spending initiative to jumpstart the Philippines’ fragile economy.

Mrs. Arroyo urged her opponents to quit their campaign to force her from office, which she described as a "waste of time." She asked them to instead join her economic recovery efforts, emphasizing that unity would help the country get back on its feet.

To press her point, Mrs. Arroyo cited the successes of Pacquiao, beauty queen Justine Gabionza, the Philippines’ victory in last year’s Southeast Asian Games and other Filipinos who gave honor to the country with their achievements.

"Our people compete and win everyday in every imaginable job throughout the world. Individually, we’ve taken the world on and won; together, we must take on the challenge of creating a new, peaceful, humane and competitive nation and prevail," she said.

Using the same tack to press his argument, Escudero said Mrs. Arroyo should fully answer the election cheating accusations if she wants to end the scandal that’s been dogging her since last year.

"Having used them as examples, it is our wish, Madame President, that you emulate them. They all won fairly. Pacquiao would face a rematch if someone doubted his victory," Escudero said.

"I wish that she wouldn’t hide behind the referee. I wish that for once she would climb into the ring and show herself. We are not picking old fights, rather we are trying to correct old and continuing wrongs. The fight against graft and corruption must start from the top," he stressed.

Appearing in a triumphant mood, Mrs. Arroyo steered clear of divisive political issues in her speech last Monday. "I am not here to talk about politics, I am here to talk about what people want," she said in her address.

She unveiled a massive spending program to build or upgrade at least 20 airports as well as roads, railways, bridges, ports and ferry services, tap water and irrigation projects that are aimed at establishing economic "super-regions" to spur development.

Mrs. Arroyo said her spending initiatives would be tailored to boost the competitiveness of four key areas of the country.

Agribusiness would be promoted in the northern Philippines and the southern region of Mindanao, tourism in the central islands that welcome half the country’s foreign tourists, and lower electricity costs and cheaper food for Manila and the surrounding industrial belt.

Several senators mostly from the opposition, meanwhile, wondered if the government has the funding for Mrs. Arroyo’s ambitious spending plan.

Sen. Ralph Recto, chairman of the Senate committee on ways and means, said Malacañang may have to "super size" the 2007 budget.

Recto said the 2007 budget — pegged according to reports at P1.14 trillion by the Department of Budget and Management — "will have to be revamped."

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said Mrs. Arroyo’s ambitious infrastructure plan may sound impressive but he considers it as another bureaucratic layer of government. — With Christina Mendez