KUALA LUMPUR/ ZAMBOANGA CITY, 11 December 2005 — Leaving cheating and corruption allegations behind in the Philippines, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is being portrayed as a God-fearing leader with a “God-shaped life” here at the 11th Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
Arroyo, who is accused of rigging the 2004 Philippine elections, is to arrive here today to attend a four-day meeting with 10-member ASEAN and its dialogue partners.
A four-page profile of Arroyo distributed to the media highlighted the president’s “abiding faith in God” that keeps her in office despite incessant attempts by her critics to topple her government.
“In the Book of Proverbs, it is said, ‘a life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump. A God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.’ The president’s life is God-shaped — a portrait of devotion to a nation that has bestowed so much honor and blessings to her family in the past,” her profile said.
At Malacañang Palace in, according to the profile, the president always greets the day with worship.
In the face of cheating allegations sparked by taped conversations between herself and a former poll official, the document asserts that the president’s victory in 2004 “was all about performance, qualifications, and compassion for the poor.”
“Her schedule on any given day was bordering on tortuous — yet as her rivals wilted from the scorching heat, President Arroyo beamed from coast to coast hugging the people who came to see her.
“While her chief political rivals could only hint at a platform of government, she enunciated clearly and emphatically the strong art for change she has made for the Philippines, especially the poor, and her six priority pledges that would lift the majority of Filipinos from the morass of poverty,” it further says.
Visit in Zamboanga
On the eve of her departure, Arroyo yesterday visited the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga where she was welcomed by hundreds of cheering supporters.
Even city Mayor Celso Lobregat, who had been at odds with Arroyo, was on hand with other officials to welcome the president.
Arroyo led church leaders in the inauguration of the renovated St. Joseph Catholic Church. Monsignor Cris dela Cruz also gave the president a token from Rome for her support to the Church.
“This token, yet simple, is priceless because it came deep from our heart,” he told Mrs. Arroyo in front of big crowed. She later attended a mass, side by side with opposition leaders Rep. Erico Fabian and former senator Francisco Tatad, and Lobregat at the tightly guarded Immaculate Conception Metropolitan Cathedral.
“We are so happy to see the president again in Zamboanga City, we have a place surely in the heart of our President Arroyo. We are so proud,” said 63-year old woman Elma Fernandez, who came with her family to see the president.
Arroyo then met with influential church leader Archbishop Carmelo Morelos, who celebrated yesterday his 75th birthday.
Security was tight at the cathedral located in downtown Zamboanga City. Snipers were spotted in buildings nearby. Bomb-sniffing dogs were everywhere and soldiers and policemen guarded the areas where the president went. Security forces also inspected vehicles and civilians were frisked for bombs and weapons.
The president had lunch with Morelos’ group and and other civic leaders at a pastoral center here and later met with senior military and police officials, led by Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan and Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, where she was briefed about the current peace and order situation in the southern Philippines.
“We are happy the president was able to make it, and the flocks of supporters were also elated, and the soldiers are happy to see her once again,” said Habacon, commander of the army’s First Infantry Division, in-charge of the security of Western Mindanao, Basilan, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi islands.
