President Arroyo revives word war with Senate

President Arroyo on Tuesday revived her scuffle with the Senate and accused senators of engaging too much in politics to the detriment of the public. Mrs. Arroyo alleged that senators have been wasting an inordinate amount of time investigating perceived anomalies in the government, as well as criticizing her every action. Three Senate committees recently found that the President “must be held accountable" in the multi-million fertilizer fund scam. Opposition leaders have alleged that at least P728 million of the fund was diverted to the administration's campaign for the 2004 national polls. The President also cited the scheduled Senate probe into the supposed excesses committed by the police and government officials on the basis of Proclamation 1017, such as the alleged attacks on the freedoms of the press, of assembly and of free expression. The Senate committee on justice and human rights, chaired by Senator Joker Arroyo, has scheduled a hearing on Thursday to hear the police raid on the offices and printing press of the Daily Tribune. “Masyadong matindi ang politika sa Senado, ginagamit nila ang mga oras nila sa mga investigations. Sa session naman, puro sila privilege speeches, tapos pagkatapos ng ilang minuto mag-a-adjourn na sila," Mrs. Arroyo said in a live interview at the studio of GMA 7’s DZBB. The interview was conducted by Mike Enriquez, anchor of DZBB’s “Saksi sa Dobol B" and GMA Network’s senior vice president for radio. The President said the penchant of some senators of using the Senate plenary to criticize her government has adversely affected important legislations aimed at improving the lives of Filipinos. She cited as example what she claimed was the delayed action of the Senate on the sin tax, expanded value-added tax (EVAT) and fiscal incentives laws. She said tax collections could have improved last year and the government’s budget deficit might be much lower now if senators acted swiftly on these economic measures. HIGHER WAGES Mrs. Arroyo also said too much political squabbling in the Senate has worked against the immediate approval of the proposed P13-billion worth of salary increases for government employees. She noted that the House of Representatives has already approved and transmitted the measure to the Senate, but senators are now only starting to tackle the proposal. In the wake of the Senate’s alleged slow action on the proposal, Arroyo said she has already asked Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya to start paying by March 15 the P1,000 salary hike for the country’s 1.4 million government workers. The salary hike is retroactive to January. EXASPERATED President Arroyo said that while her offer of reconciliation to her political "enemies" remains, she said she has grown tired of wooing them. The President said she could not waste her time constantly asking her critics to lay off her government. “Matagal ko na silang iniimbitang magkaisa. Pero hanggang kailan ako liligaw ng liligaw? Hindi ko binabawi ang aking panawagan na magkaisa tayo. Pero hindi naman pwedeng lahat ng panahon ko at sigla ko ay pupunta doon dahil kailangan asikasuhin ko din ang ekonomiya," she said. She added: “(At) palagay ko tama ang aking prayoridad kasi nga kagaya ng sabi (mo) lumalakas ang ating piso dahil lumalakas ang stock market at lumiliit ang budget deficit. Gusto ko gamitin ang aking sigla para itong momentum na nakuha na natin ay ma-translate natin sa kinabubuti at mararamdaman ng ating kapwang Pilipino lalo na yung mahihirap." She also said she has stopped listening to the critiques of her detractors. “Sino ang nagbabatikos? Sino parating nananawagan na ibagsak, ibagsak? Sino namumulitika, sino nampepersonal? Ako nga di ko pinapatulan ang mga nag-aatake sa akin kasi ekonomiya ang aking tinutukoy at gaya ng sabi ko ilang beses na ako nanawaganag magkaisa at bukas pa rin ang aking pintuan para sa tatanggap ng aking imbitasyon," she said.-GMANews.TV