GMA returns to work

MANILA, Philippines - After more than a year of absence, former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo attended session at the House of Representatives yesterday and listened briefly to the plenary discussions.

Arroyo looked thin and wore a neck and back brace over a cream suit as she entered the plenary hall at around 4 p.m. escorted by her son, Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo.

She listened to the debates on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill as she greeted well-wishers. She left after 25 minutes and before the secretariat called the roll.

The 65-year-old former leader was freed on P1-million bail last week by the Pasay regional trial court, which found no strong evidence to keep her detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) for alleged electoral sabotage.

Arroyo said she has to regain her strength to participate in legislative sessions, including the vote on whether to terminate the debates on the RH bill next week.

“I’ll see everyday how I’ll go,” she told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Arroyo attended a physical therapy session at the VMMC.

Arroyo said she has difficulty eating and follows a soft diet. “Crispy (food) is better than hard. I cut it into small pieces. Then I have to turn left so that the food would go to my right. It’s a complicated procedure,” she said.

She said she suffers shooting pain in the legs and back and is long overdue for another surgery. But she said she is “not physically and emotionally ready for surgery” and has to make do with intensive physical therapy.

House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said Arroyo was eager to come back but gets tired after walking even a short distance.

“We hope she can (regularly attend sessions) because she will be an asset to the minority, especially on budget deliberations because that’s her expertise... economics and finance, but looking at her fragile condition, I really have my doubt whether she can participate,” Suarez said.

Arroyo’s children tried to stop her from attending the session, her spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn said. 

Arroyo’s challenger

Meanwhile, reports that Arroyo will seek reelection next year have fueled a search for her opponent.

Adonis Simpao, the official candidate of the Liberal Party (LP) against Arroyo in the 2010 election, said he would not run again, but vowed to help search for Arroyo’s opponent.

“We are not short of qualified Kapampangans, although as of the moment, there is no one person we can yet name,” Simpao said.

Simpao said he would remain active in the civil society concerns of the Kapampangan Manalakaran Inc. (KMI), which he helped found with former Pampanga governor Eddie Panlilio.

The KMI, which advocates good governance and responsible citizenship in Pampanga, backed charges against Arroyo.

Journalist Randy David, who said he would challenge Arroyo in the 2010 poll only to back out, told The STAR in a text message that he has no plan to run in next year’s election.

“I have no plan to run in Pampanga or to embark on a political career. Politics is not my vocation,” he said.

David, a native of Barangay Betis in Guagua town, said he thought of challenging Arroyo to send the message that it was not right or fair for a sitting president to seek lower office after her term.

“Pampanga deserves and needs the infusion of new and young blood. Mrs. Arroyo should step aside now, graciously retire and let the younger generation have a chance at public service,” he added.

Ex-priest and former Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio could not be reached for comment. His brother Gerry said the former priest is no longer interested to run for public office.

Panlilio was named LP chairman in Pampanga when he ran in the 2010 gubernatorial election. – Paolo Romero, Ding Cervantes