First term (2001–2004) Succession On October 18, opposition groups filed an impeachment complaint against Joseph Estrada with the House of Representatives. The complaint was passed and transmitted to the Senate in November, resulting in the impeachment trial's start in December. On January 16, 2001, the impeachment trial "gripped the public imagination" according to Cristina Eloisa Baclig of the
Philippine Daily Inquirer. Private prosecutors walked out of the trial when pro-Estrada senators prevented the opening of a brown envelope. It allegedly contained bank documents linking President
Joseph Estrada to money laundering and hidden wealth, through the use of an alias. From January 16 to 20, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos gathered at
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), the site of the original
People Power Revolution. Officials of the administration also withdrew their support for President Estrada. On the last day, Arroyo took her oath on EDSA, declaring herself as the 14th President of the Philippines. Estrada opposed this decision but left the
Malacañang Palace for "national reconciliation". In the last week of April 2001, the Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of Estrada and his son, then mayor
Jinggoy Estrada, for plunder charges. A few days later, Estrada supporters protested his arrest, gathered at the EDSA Shrine, and staged what they called,
EDSA III. Thousands of protesters demanded the release of Estrada and called for the ouster of Arroyo and the reinstatement of the former. On May 1, 2001, they marched towards Malacañang to force Arroyo to give in to their demands. Due to fights between police and protesters, three peopletwo cops and one protesterdied. Arroyo declared a state of rebellion due to the violence. On July 27, 2003, the Oakwood mutiny occurred in the Philippines, consisting of group of over 300 soldiers led by Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala and Navy Lt.
Antonio Trillanes IV. The soldiers took over the Oakwood Premier Ayala Center in
Makati and, after arrangements, called for Arroyo's resignation as well as improvements for soldiers and military systems. Negotiations then happened and, due to the lack of support from the public, the mutiny ended after 20 hours. During the mutiny, Arroyo declared a state of rebellion.
2004 presidential election Article VII Section 4 of the
1987 Constitution explicitly states that the president of the Philippines can only serve for one term. However, the same provision also implicitly states that a president's successor who has not served for more than four years can still seek a full term for the presidency. Although Arroyo fell under this category, she initially announced on December 29, 2002, that she would not seek the presidency in 2004. She emphasized that she would devote her remaining months in office to serving the people and improving the economy of the Philippines. In October 2003, Arroyo changed her mind and announced that she will run in the May 2004 presidential elections and seek a direct mandate from the people. She explained, "There is a higher cause — to change society...in a way that flourishes our future". With her decision, the initial criticisms hurled against Arroyo centered on her lack of word of honor. As predicted by SWS exit polls, Arroyo won the election by a margin of over one million votes against Poe. However, the congressional canvassing was quite contentious as opposition lawmakers in the National Board of Canvassers argued that there were many discrepancies in the election returns and that insinuations of cheating were raised. On June 23, 2004, Congress proclaimed Arroyo and
Noli de Castro as president and vice president, respectively.
Second term (2004–2010) 2004 presidential election rigging allegations in
Cebu City on June 30, 2004. On June 30, 2004, in a break with tradition, Arroyo first delivered her inaugural speech at the
Quirino Grandstand in Manila. She then departed for Cebu City for her oath taking, the first time that a Philippine president took the oath of office outside of
Luzon. Allegations of cheating against Arroyo gained momentum one year after the May 2004 elections. In a press conference held on June 10, 2005,
Samuel Ong, former deputy director of the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) claimed to have audio recordings of wiretapped conversations between Arroyo and an official of the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
Virgilio Garcillano, a former COMELEC commissioner, would later be identified as the official talking to Arroyo. According to Ong, the recordings allegedly proved that Arroyo ordered the rigging of the national elections for her to win by around one million votes against Poe. The recordings of Ong became known as the
Hello Garci controversy and triggered massive protests against Arroyo. Key members of her cabinet resigned from their respective posts and urged Arroyo to do the same. On June 27, 2005, Arroyo admitted to inappropriately speaking to a COMELEC official, claiming it was a "lapse in judgement". She, however, denied influencing the outcome of the elections and declared that she won the elections fairly. Arroyo did not resign despite the pressures coming from various sectors of society. The Hello Garci controversy became the basis of the impeachment case filed against Arroyo in 2005; attempts to impeach Arroyo failed later that year. Another impeachment case was filed against Arroyo in 2006 but was also defeated at the
House of Representatives. In October 2007, lawyer Alan Paguia filed an impeachment complaint against Arroyo in connection with the issue of bribery. Paguia's complaint was based on the revelation of Pampanga Governor
Ed Panlilio that various governors received half a million pesos from Malacañang. The impeachment case, as of the middle of October 2007, has already been referred to the House of Representatives Committee on Justice. Her tenure also reflected the functioning of established democratic institutions in the Philippines, including the interaction between executive authority, legislative processes, and judicial oversight.
2006 state of emergency , June 9, 2009 On February 24, 2006, a plot to take over the government was uncovered by authorities, allegedly headed by Gen.
Danilo Lim and other rightist military adventurists. General Lim and some of his men were arrested. To face the threat posed by enemies of the state, Arroyo issued Presidential Proclamation 1017 and used it as basis in declaring a state of emergency throughout the Philippines. According to Arroyo, this declaration was done to quell the military rebellion, stop lawless violence, and promote peace and stability. Presidential Proclamation 1017 also empowered the government to enforce warrantless arrests and take over strategic private utilities companies. Several members of the Senate, including
Franklin Drilon,
Kiko Pangilinan, and
Pia Cayetano, condemned the proclamation as it contravenes "the fundamental guarantees of the Constitution, particularly the basic civil liberties enshrined therein." The state of emergency existed for about one week with the purpose of curbing further violence, illegal rallies, and public disturbance throughout the Philippines. The police and the military dispersed demonstrators and protesters, especially those along EDSA. Aside from General Lim, prominent personalities were also arrested in connection with their alleged participation in the attempt to overthrow the government. On May 4, the high court declared the proclamation constitutional; however, it also ruled it was illegal for the government to implement warrantless arrests and seize private institutions and companies., May 19, 2003 , February 17, 2009
Domestic policies Education After decades of surveys, consultations, and studies starting with the Monroe Survey in 1925 during the American period, the 9-year implementation process of
K–12 curriculum finally began on May 20, 2008 during the Arroyo administration when Senator
Mar Roxas filed the Omnibus Education Reform Act of 2008 (Senate Bill 2294) to strengthen the Philippine education system through timely interventions on the quality of teachers, the medium of instruction used and the evaluation of students' aptitude, among other aspects. It mandates the effectivity of K–12 four years later on April 24, 2012 during
the administration of Arroyo's successor Benigno Aquino III which increase in the number of years in basic education, from 10 years to 12 years as consistent with global standards. On January 7, 2010, senator and presidential candidate
Benigno Aquino III adopted the position of SB 2294; he said this will "give everyone an equal chance to succeed" and "have quality education and profitable jobs."
Economy Arroyo, who earned a master's degree and doctorate in economics, made the
Philippine economy the focus of her presidency. Annual economic growth in the Philippines averaged 4.5% during the Arroyo administration, expanding every quarter of her presidency. This is higher than in the administrations of her three immediate predecessors, Corazon Aquino (3.8%),
Fidel Ramos (3.7%), and Joseph Estrada (3.7%). The Philippine economy grew at its fastest pace in three decades in 2007, with real GDP growth exceeding 7%. The economy was one of the few to avoid contraction during the
2008 financial crisis, faring better than its regional peers due to minimal exposure to troubled international securities, lower dependence on exports, relatively resilient domestic consumption, large remittances from four-to five-million overseas Filipino workers, and a growing business process outsourcing industry. Despite this growth, the poverty rate remained stagnant due to uneven distribution of income. A controversial expanded
value added tax (e-VAT) law, considered the centerpiece of the Arroyo administration's economic reform agenda, was implemented in November 2005, aiming to complement revenue-raising efforts that could plug the country's large budget deficit. Her administration originally set a target to balance the national budget by 2010. The tax measure boosted confidence in the government's fiscal capacity and helped to strengthen the
Philippine peso, making it East Asia's best performing currency in 2005–06. The peso strengthened by nearly 20% in 2007, making it one of Asia's better performing currencies for that year, a fact attributed to a combination of increased remittances from
overseas Filipino workers and a strong domestic economy. Early in her presidency, Arroyo implemented a controversial policy of holiday economics, adjusting holidays to form longer weekends with the purpose of boosting domestic tourism and allowing Filipinos more time with their families.
Charter change Arroyo spearheaded a controversial plan for an overhaul of the constitution to transform the present unitary and presidential republic with a
bicameral legislature into a federal parliamentary government with a
unicameral legislature.
Foreign policies , January 28, 2002
Administration and cabinet Public perception quarterly public opinion polling of the net satisfaction rating of President Arroyo The
Social Weather Stations public opinion group has conducted quarterly surveys tracking the net satisfaction rating ("satisfied" rating minus "dissatisfied" rating") of President Arroyo. She began her presidency in the first quarter of 2001 with a net satisfaction rating of +24. Her rating first dipped into the negative in the first quarter of 2003, making Arroyo the only president to achieve a negative net satisfaction rating in SWS opinion polling. Her rating rebounded well into the positive in 2004, in time for the presidential election where she won election to a new six-year term. However, net satisfaction sunk back into negative territory in the fourth quarter of 2004, and has remained negative since, dipping as low as −38 in the second quarter of 2008. Her net satisfaction rating in the first quarter of 2009 was −32. meeting in Davos, Switzerland in January 31, 2009 ==Post-presidency (2010–present)==