LINGAYEN, Pangasinan - Am amgry Archbishop Oscar Cruz took exception to a claim made by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that it was God who wanted her to be
the leader of the Philippines.

 

“With all due respect and I say this with emphasis, a good number of mentally deranged people also claim that they are also God-sent. To verify this you can
go to any mental hospital or psychiatric ward. So again her opinion is respected but it doesn’t seem to be tenable,” Cruz added. Cruz sad if Arroyo was the best
person chosen by God to lead the country, “how come there is division, poverty is growing further and we rank first in corruption, second in exploitation of
women and now considered to be a paradise of illegal drug trade.”

Other opposition figures lambasted the President for claiming that it was God’s wish for her to lead the Philippines. Cruz said since Arroyo had been saying
that she a religious person and close to God, “she should be responsible not only in herwords but also in her actions.” “As a I said, it is rather merciless
and cruel to a people that is very religious and close to Him to say that,” Cruz said.

The President made the quote early this month in a radio interview. For a half hour, she was on the offensive, blasting her opponents for seeking headlines,
for excessive politicking at the expense of the poor, and even for eating while holding their congressional deliberations. And she denied she was the root cause
of the divisions renting the country. In fact, she said, she believed her being President was part of God’s plan for her-and for the country.

She said she was also aware of the calls for her to resign. “But I have great faith in God’s will. I believe that I am here now because that is the plan of
God for me and for us.

As long as I am here, I will do my best to do what is best for our country.”

“Who is lambasting me? Who is always calling for my ouster? Who is politicking? Who is making personal attacks? I myself have been ignoring all their attacks
against me,” the President said on GMA Network’s radio station dzBB, the first media interview she gave after her controversial emergency proclamation.. She sounded buoyed by what she termed as the successful implementation of
Proclamation No. 1017, which she imposed on Feb. 24 and lifted a week later. At one point, Ms Arroyo admitted it was “very difficult” to be the leader of the
country in the face of the criticism hurled against her.

Ms Arroyo trained her guns on her critics, specifically lawmakers who had bedeviled her with a string of high-profile investigations into alleged
government wrongdoing. “We have enemies that are engaging in excessive politicking. They have politicized all investigations in the Senate and this is
the reason why they have failed to pass new legislation,” she said.

“Just like my proposal to increase the salaries of government workersthey have neglected this because they used all their time to investigate.” “What has come
out of their investigations that are supposed to be in aid of legislation? What laws have come out of these investigations?” She also berated unnamed
legislators for their work habits. “They eat during session hours. They make privilege speeches after opening each session
and after just a few moments, they adjourn.”