'Lift 7 curses; Gloria, resign'

Former Cabinet men decry 'Stolen Republic'

BY DENNIS GADIL

FORMER Cabinet members, some of whom served under the current administration, yesterday said President Arroyo should resign to lift the seven curses she has brought down on the people.

"Each year she stays in power, she brings the nation closer to extinction," said former welfare secretary Dinky Soliman of the Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO) in a press conference at De la Salle Manila campus.

Soliman, who was one of the 10 Cabinet members who resigned in 2005 at the height of "Hello Garci" scandal, said two more years is a long time for a "very bad" president.

The FSGO gave Arroyo a failing grade of 1.1 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 as the lowest.

Former trade minister Vicente Paterno read the FSGO's State of the Nation Address, titled "A Stolen, Not a Strong Republic."

It listed seven "curses" of bad governance that they said Arroyo has brought on the people.

Soliman said the President's preoccupation since Day One has been personal survival.

She said Arroyo is now using VAT money to appease the poor, but the latter are not told that only P6 billion has so far been doled out from an estimated P18 billion VAT windfall.

Former civil service chief Karina David said the government is now like the M/V Princess of the Stars before it eventually capsized.

"Butas-butas na. Maraming tubig na pumapasok," David said. "Ang pananatili niya ang siyang nagpapalubog sa atin."

The FSGO said, "Arroyo stole the country's future and robbed the nation of its dignity."

"Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the head of our government is the worst threat to the state of our nation. The person pretending to tell us about the dire state of our nation on Monday is the very same person who has done the most to destroy the very foundations of our nation," it said.

"The image of Emperor Nero fiddling while Rome was burning has an echo for us Filipinos today. It is the image of our officials' downing toasts to the leadership of President Arroyo in New York, Washington, and Las Vegas while Filipinos were gasping for air and drowning in the Visayas," the FSGO said.