Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the controversial fourteenth

president of the Philippines. She was the second female

president after Corazon Aquino. She is the daughter of former
president Diosdado Macapagal.

Arroyo entered politics in the Arroyo entered politics in the 1992

election, running for senator. At the first general election under the 1987
Constitution, the top twelve vote-getting senatorial candidates would win a
six-year term, and the next twelve candidates would win a three-year term,
running for senator. At the first general election under the 1987 Constitution,
the top twelve vote-getting senatorial candidates would win a six-year term,
and the next twelve candidates would win a three-year term. Arroyo
considered a run for the presidency in the 1998 election, but was persuaded
by President Fidel V. Ramos and leaders of the administration party Lakas-
Christian Muslim Democrats to instead seek the vice-presidency as the
running mate of its presidential candidate, House Speaker Jose de Venecia,
Jr.Though the latter lost to popular former actor Joseph Estrada, Arroyo won
the vice presidency by a large margin, garnering more than twice the votes
of her closest opponent, Estrada's running mate Senator Edgardo Angara. In
the last week of April 2001, the Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of Estrada
and his son, then mayor Jinggoy Estrada, for plunder charges. A few days
later, Estrada supporters protested his arrest, gathered at the EDSA Shrine,
and staged what they called, EDSA III comparing their actions to the People
Power revolution of 1986 and January 2001.

Thousands of protesters demanded the release of Estrada. Eventually, they

also called for the ouster of Arroyo and the reinstatement of the former. On
May 1, 2001, they marched towards Malacaang to force Arroyo to give in to
their demands. Violence erupted when the protesters attempted to storm the
presidential palace and the military and police were ordered to use their
arms to drive them back. Arroyo declared a state of rebellion because of the
violence and prominent political personalities affiliated with Estrada were
charged and arrested. The so-called EDSA III was the first serious political
challenge to the Arroyo presidency.

On June 30, 2004, in a break with tradition, Arroyo first delivered her
inaugural speech at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. She then departed
for Cebu City for her oath taking, the first time that a Philippine president
took the oath of office outside of Luzon.
Allegations of cheating against Arroyo gained momentum one year after the
May 2004 elections. In a press conference held on June 10, 2005, Samuel
Ong, former deputy director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
claimed to have audio recordings of wiretapped conversations between
Arroyo and an official of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). Virgilio
Garcillano, a former COMELEC commissioner, would later be identified as the
official talking to Arroyo. According to Ong, the recordings allegedly proved
that Arroyo ordered the rigging of the national elections for her to win by
around one million votes against Poe.

List of her achievements during her term

(A few of them)

The Strong Republic Nautical Highway

o During the earlier part of former President Arroyos term, the RoRo (roll-on, roll-off)
network of ships and barges that link the highly fragmented islands of the Philippines
was a prominent talking point in the presidents speeches. The ships have always
been there and the geographic challenges but the supposed efforts of the president
have helped in stream lining the network.
2. Job creation

o Arroyo has always had a mantra of creating one million jobs for Filipinos. The
creation of jobs is done through the infusion of fresh capital in the form investments.
Arroyo has gone on many international trips to secure the support of various
companies and businessmen by making the country seem palatable and a worthy
venue for their next business ventures.
Conventional infrastructure

o The Arroyo regime has also ushered in greater gains in terms of infrastructure in the
country. In her administration, we have seen the emergence of many domestic and
international airports like the ones in Bacolod and Clark which the former president
ended up naming after her late and former President Diosdado Macapagal. Gloria
may not have been the visionaries that Ferdinand and Imelda were during the 70s
with their goals of making world-class establishments and buildings but GMA has
 certainly tried her best to connect and interlink the various major towns in the country.
The road conditions in between the farms and the actual market places were farmers
could peddle their goods have always been a key talking point in various stump
speeches of political candidates and government officials and Gloria seems to have
taken this to heart. It may not have been perfect, but she certainly tried.
4. Holiday Economics

o The typical Filipino worker or student would probably remember the Arroyo policy
of moving holidays around for the sake of boosting local tourism to be the one shining
example of the former presidents contribution for the betterment of society. Thanks to
Glorias insistence that the holidays be moved to a Monday or a Friday to allow for a
three-day weekend, many students and employees have been able to get a day of
rest while a good number of Filipinos also used the opportunity to travel.
5. The relatively peaceful and orderly elections

o While there are still questions of electoral fraud and whether or not automation
should be used again in future elections, it seems clear that the nation was more or
less sold on the fact that the 2010 elections were largely cleaner than the
controversial 2004 elections. Preliminary results showing the apparent big lead of
Aquino over his rivals made it clear that he was indeed on his way to victory the
expected result of many Filipinos due to what the surveys were indicating a few days
before the actual polls.