MANILA, Philippines — Outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo urged the Philippines on Wednesday to unite behind her successor, who has promised to investigate her for alleged wrongdoing during her nine-year administration.
In a nationally broadcast farewell message ahead of the end of her term on June 30, she recalled that she took power during turbulent times when massive anti-corruption protests forced her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, to step down in January 2001.
She congratulated opposition Senator Benigno Aquino III, who won the May 10 presidential election by a landslide on a strong anti-corruption platform. Jejomar Binay, another opposition leader and mayor of Manila's financial district of Makati, was elected vice-president in the country's first nationwide automated elections.
"I feel confident that we are leaving this nation much stronger than when I came to office, but I leave that for history to judge," she said. "Tonight, I call on everyone to unite behind our new leaders".
Although consistently ranked in opinion polls as the country's most unpopular leader since dictator Ferdinand Marcos was toppled in 1986, Arroyo said she had reversed the country's economic decline with 37 quarters of growth by making unpopular decisions like raising taxes to generate funds for health care, creating 9 million jobs, and building schools and infrastructure needed to attract investment.
"The gains I made were built on the efforts of previous leaders. Each successive government must build on the successes and progress of the previous ones," she said.
