Obama can learn from Arroyo, says Palace official

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines may be just a Third World country, but US President Barack Obama could learn a lesson or two about governance from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, her top aide said Wednesday. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said while he did not want to think Filipinos were better than anybody else, especially since the political system and environment among countries are different from one another, he thinks Arroyo's assumption of the presidency ahead of Obama gave her enough experience on dealing with challenges that lay ahead. "First of all, our President is ahead of Obama and probably, I would think that if there's anything to be learned, it should be President Obama learning from President Arroyo. And wouldn't we be proud to say that the Philippines continues to be an 'island of calm' because of the present crunches?" he said, when asked by media what lesson Arroyo could learn from Obama. He said the President could even be a model or the "proper conduct under pressure." Arroyo had managed to quell all attempts to oust her from power – via impeachment, “people power" uprising or coup plots – despite her very poor popularity rating. After Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives defeated the fourth impeachment attempt against her late last year, it became clear that Arroyo would be able to finish her term until the end of June 2010. Ermita said Arroyo and her abilities especially in managing the economy and in insulating the Philippines from the full brunt of the economic global crisis had been recognized. And while the US maybe a big country and have the wherewithal to overcome the crisis "being a leader of a nation, President Arroyo has more experience than President Obama." Asked if a date has already been set for a possible meeting between Arroyo and Obama, Ermita said there was no date yet but he is confident that there would eventually be one within the year. He said Arroyo and Obama could easily meet in any of the international forums like the Asia United Nations General Assembly meeting and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. On Obama's inaugural speech, Ermita said everyone was hoping that he'd be able to deliver on the promises and policies he had laid out. He said he had no idea if President Arroyo was able to watch the inaugural in full, but added that she might have been able to catch some of it. 'Not us' He added that the Philippines also did not feel alluded to when Obama talked about corruption, saying all governments, including the US may have had a brush in with corruption. On the security front, Ermita said Obama's mention of a pullout of American soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan might also be beneficial to US allies like the Philippines which could even be the recipient of military equipment that the Americans would no longer use. Asked if any local politician could be considered as an Obama of the Philippines, Ermita said it is expected that others would try to follow the strategy of Obama, especially with elections in the Philippines only 18 months away. - GMANews.TV