Palace: Economic gains achieved purely through
Aquino administration’s efforts
Malacanang said the economic gains posted by
the Aquino administration were solely the result of the present government’s
initiatives and not from the momentum set by the previous administration.
In a
statement, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday commended
President Benigno Aquino III over the 6.6-percent growth in the country’s gross
domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Arroyo’s
Friday statement is a complete turnaround from her previous comments two years
ago saying President Aquino obscured the economic gains of the Arroyo
presidency to allegedly make up for his own shortcomings.
In a
radio in interview over government-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday, Deputy
Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the recent development is "a
classic case of the student already surpassing the teacher.”
President
Aquino was a former student in economics at Ateneo de Manila University by
President Arroyo.
But Valte
said the former President’s statement isn’t true particularly on her claim that
President Aquino’s administration just sustained the gains of the previous
government after the former leader left office in 2010.
Arroyo
said she welcomed the development in the country’s economy noting the President
is on track to restoring the growth of 7.9 percent where it was before the
first half of 2010.
“But, we
all have to remember that 2010 was an election year, and historically, if you
look at all the data, simulan natin: Kapag election year, mataas talaga ang
growth, mataas talaga ang GDP. Bakit? Because of election spending, and ask any
economist, they’ll tell you the same thing,” Valte said.
Based on
historical figures, Valte said election years really have high GDP growths. For
instance in the 1988 election, the GDP was 6.8 percent; in 2004, the GDP was
6.7 percent; and in 2007, it was at 6.6 percent.
“But if
you take out all the election years noon, when you look at the GDP, if you
exclude all the election years, ‘yung 6.6 percent natin for 2012 is the fastest
growth the Philippine economy has seen in the past 30 years, surpassing all the
past presidents, beginning from the former President Cory Aquino,” she added.
Commenting on criticisms saying the
government’s campaign against corruption must uphold the rule of law, due
processes and the independence of the judiciary, Valte said the anti-corruption
fight of the administration is within the bounds of the rule of law.
“The
anti-corruption fight of the President has always been within the bounds of the
rule of law with respect to other institutions, which is why it translates into
good governance, and good governance translates to good economics,” she said.
PND (as)
Palace providing info on constitution, its
history as country marks 25th Constitution Day today
Malacanang said the public can access details
from a Palace website of the Philippine Constitution and its history as the
country marks today the 25th Constitution Day.
Former
President Corazon C. Aquino proclaimed in 1988 that February 2 would be a
national commemoration for the ratification of the 1987 Constitution on
February 2, 1987.
As a
contribution to the observance of Constitution Day, the office of the
Presidential spokesperson, together with the Presidential Communications
Development and Strategic Planning Office, is making available to the public
information about the Constitution and its history.
These
include a briefer on the history of the constitutions, as well as the history
of the Constitution Day observance in the country.
There
will also be an educational infographic map charting the distribution of
delegates to the 1934 and 1971 Constitutional Conventions.
It is
also presenting the continuation of the government’s digital colorization
project, colorized archival images of the 1899 Malolos Congress, the 1934
Constitutional Convention and the 1943 election of the National Assembly. PND
(as)
