RE: Alternative to Gloria Arroyo

With the degree to which corruption, poverty and hunger have escalated, human rights violations have intensified, and over-all government misrule has worsened since Jan. 20, 2001 -- when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was sworn into office after the ouster of former President Joseph Estrada -- I do not know how she can call herself "the best person to lead" the country and not get goosebumps all over. I am aware, however, that the patients of the National Center for Mental Health can shout "I am God!" and not fear the wrath of God for it.

Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Conrado de Quiros, in one of his typically stinging pieces, said that with what Macapagal-Arroyo has done to this country so far even the Malacañang gardener would surely do better as Philippine president. I would have to disagree with De Quiros on this, the comparison to the Malacañang gardener being quite unfair to the latter.

With all that has befallen the country under the Macapagal-Arroyo government, it is easy to imagine a country with no government as faring way better. With this, we can be sure a pig's ass would have done definitely better than the daughter of "the poor boy from Lubao" as Philippine president.

With the Philippines having a population of 84 million based on the latest statistics, it is unthinkable that there could be no Filipino who could be more competent than Macapagal-Arroyo in leading the country.

By presenting herself as "the best to lead the country" given the aforementioned, Macapagal-Arroyo does a grave injustice even to her training at the UP School of Economics -- an academic training after which one is expected to have developed high proficiency in numbers.

For that training she spent money that could easily have been given to an unfortunate baby somewhere who has to sleep through the nights without his mother by his side because she has to dance naked at some girlie bar and have herself taken out by customers so they could have food the next day. That way, the mother would enjoy the "luxury" of even a few weeks of being able to sleep side by side with her baby at night and not being forced to sell her flesh to some salivating maniac.

If this country is indeed unable to produce a better leader than Macapagal-Arroyo, we should all be drinking cyanide or muriatic acid right this very moment.

Alex