Arroyo sends birthday wishes, vows unwavering support for Duterte

Former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday committed to continuously support President Rodrigo Duterte as she greeted him on his 73rd birthday.

Arroyo called Duterte an "exemplary leader" and thanked him for a "trailblazing leadership and service to the Filipino people."

"Thank you for the years of real friendship. I wish you fortitude and the best of health so you can continue instituting your programs for real change for our country," she said.

"You have my unwavering support. God bless you and your family," she continued.

On her birthday last year, Arroyo also dedicated her wish for Duterte.

“[O]n a personal level, I think I have everything. So I have no personal birthday wish,” she said then.

“But because I have been a leader, of course I have my wishes for the country. And my wish is for the success of President Duterte because his success is the success of the country,” she added.

Arroyo, an ally of Duterte, served as deputy speaker for several months before being replaced for voting against the bill reinstating death penalty in the country.

Despite this, the former president vowed to continuously support Duterte.

In October last year, Arroyo took oath as member of Duterte's party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.

"My joining the PDP-Laban is to consolidate support for the President. It is a matter of course as we have been talking about this for quite sometime," she said in a statement after her oath-taking.

When she was president, Arroyo was the chairman of the political party, Lakas. —ALG, GMA News