By Jason de Asis

BALER, Aurora January 30, 2011-Aurora Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo calls the public about former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) that she should not be judged by her role in EDSA II that ousted former President Joseph Estrada but through her performance in bringing about the basic services to the citizenry and for being a president with a vision for development especially in the countryside.

The lady governor said that GMA (Macapagal-Arroyo’s initials) should be appreciated for the good she has done in sparking growth and development even in areas previously neglected and overlooked by the past administrations, stressing that the latter should be credited for steering Aurora which is considered as one of the poorest provinces in the country.

She said that on the threshold of progress economic development through GMA initiatives, including her signing of executive orders annexing Aurora province to Central Luzon and her signing into law the bill creating the Aurora Special Economic Zone and Freeport that was vetoed in the last few days of the  Ramos administration, she should be lauded. 

Angara-Castillo judge former PGMA by what she has done to her province, noting that Macapagal-Arroyo is the lone president who did not politicize the concept of development in Aurora and did not matter that Aurora has a very small population; however, she looked for its potentials.

She explained that the roads and bridges in the province were all constructed during GMA’s term as president, citing the Baler-Casiguran Road, the ro-ro port in this town and many other infrastructure projects.

Angara-Castillo made the observation when sought for comment regarding the accusations made by a colleague in the League of Provinces of the Philippines who claimed people were “used” by her to gain power during Edsa II.

Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson said he and many others were just used by GMA when sought to comment on the 10^th anniversary of Estrada’s ouster.

Former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros also claimed that Arroyo “hijacked” Edsa II.

Arroyo spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn defended her boss from Singson’s assusations, saying GMA became president in 2001 not because she pursued the office but because it was hers by succession following Estrada’s unceremonious ouster over the jueteng-gate scandal.

Bautista-Horn said it was Singson who chiefly benefited from Edsa II as this enabled him to dodge accusations he was the country’s biggest jueteng operator and that with Estrada’s fall from grace, he freed himself from fear of assassination which led him to blow the whistle on the latter, his former drinking and gambling buddy.

Meanwhile, the lady governor who is known as a staunch ally of GMA declined to comment directly on Singson’s allegations but stressed that if she were to assess nor judge GMA, it should be on how she made an impact on the lives of Aurorans during her term. (Jason de Asis)