GLORIA
MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
"Join me therefore as we
begin to tear down the walls that divide.
Let us build an edifice
of peace, progress, and economic stability."
Born: April 5, 1947
Position in History: Philippines: 14th President, Fifth Republic: 4th
President
First Presidential Term: January 20, 2001 - June 30, 2004 (President
Estrada's remaining term)
Second Presidential Term: June 30, 2004 - Present (President Arroyo's
own term)
Duration of Term: 1257 days (first)
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the daughter of the late President Diosdado
Macapagal. She was born in Manila where she lived until the age of four
and then went to live with her maternal grandmother in Iligan,
Mindanao. Arroyo stayed there for three years and then split her time
between Mindanao and Manila until she was 11. She moved into
Malacañan Palace with her father at the age of 14. At high
school, Arroyo was a good student attaining top grades. She studied
economics at Georgetown University, Washington DC for two years at the
same time as Bill Clinton, whom she knew before returning to the
Philippines. She graduated from Assumption College with a Bachelor of
Science in Commerce and later earned a Master of Arts Degree in
Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University. For a few years, Arroyo
fulfilled her career goal and became a teacher. After marriage, she
attended the University of the Philippines and obtained a PhD.
Arroyo entered the government under the Aquino administration as an
assistant secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry. She also
became executive director of the Garments and Textile Export Board, and
steered the garments industry to become the top net dollar earner for
the Philippines. Arroyo later rose to the rank of Undersecretary of
Trade and Industry. She was elected to the Senate in 1992 and
re-elected in 1995 and elected to the position of vice-president in
1998. Under the Estrada administration, Arroyo was appointed Secretary
of Social Welfare and Development. This was a post she held until her
resignation from the Cabinet on October 12, 2000, amidst the bribery
and corruption allegations made against President Estrada.
Following EDSA II which resulted in President Estrada's step-down, the
position of president was declared vacant by the Supreme Court and
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was sworn in as president on January 20, 2001,
by Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. She was elected present in her own
right in 2004. In June 2005, a tape of a recorded wiretap conversation
between President Arroyo and a COMELEC official during the election
emerged. Arroyo has been accused of cheating in the election and there
have been calls for her resignation from the growing number of
protestors. In September however, the House of Representatives decided
against proceeding with impeachment. A state of emergency was
proclaimed in 2006, after a crushed coup attempt. During the crisis,
the opposition, media and critics condemned the state of emergency
comparing it to martial law under Ferdinand Marcos. There was criticism
of apparently warrantless arrests and oppression of freedom of speech
and the freedom of the press. The state of emergency was lifted one
week later. Despite a presidency marred by coups and scandal, Arroyo
insists on pushing through with amending the 1987 Constitution to
switch to a more effective federal-parliamentary style government.
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