Arroyo bid sparks outrage

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

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MANILA, Philippines—Within hours of her declaration that she was running for Congress
in May, a firestorm of criticism swirled around President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, with one critic accusing her of being drunk with power and others saying her aim was to shield herself from “a landslide of lawsuits.”

The criticisms, as well as concerns, came both from her well-known political enemies and from some Church leaders.

The biggest worry of Ms Arroyo’s political foes appeared to be that she might use a seat in Congress as a launching pad to become prime minister, in case of a shift to a parliamentary government.

Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, for so long a vocal critic of Ms Arroyo, said the framers of the Constitution did not think of imposing a ban on an outgoing president running for a lower office simply because it was unthinkable.

“There appears to be no reasonable cause for such a constitutional prohibition as really there is no person in his or her sound mind who will do such a funny and demeaning political circus,” Cruz said.

Cruz denounced Ms Arroyo’s “addiction to power.”

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Really? Was there any indication she was planning to run for Congress?

Read the full story at the Philippine Daily Inquirer.