MARCOSIAN ATTITUDE PREVAILS AMONG NPs -- LP

The Filipino people experienced indescribable sufferings and the country’s economy hit rock-bottom during the incumbency of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Liberal Party Director General Chito Gascon today said.  

Gascon, a student activist who fought against the 1972 Martial law, said the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the tyranny of the elder Marcos did not only free the Filipinos from oppressive leadership but steered the economy away from the pit of insolvency. 

Gascon said the Marcos administration bled dry the government coffer, making it extremely difficult for the next government to carry out economic correctives.  

“But President Cory Aquino succeeded. Economy grew within the first two years after Marcos’ ouster. Domestic and foreign investments picked up. The economic atmosphere was buoyant,” he said, adding the buying power of consumers also improved. He also said more workers found employment while small-scale enterprises flourished.  

“Hindi naman nakapagtatakang nagbubulag-bulagan si Bongbong sa idinulot na maganda ng EDSA I. Patuloy siyang nabubuhay sa ilusyon na ang pamilya Marcos lamang ang makatutulong sa ating mga Pinoy. Iyan din ang ilusyon ng kanyang ama nung naka-upo pa ito sa Malakanyang kung kaya’t hindi niya binitiwan ang kanyang posisyon sa kabila ng paghihirap ng taumbayan (It is not surprising why Bongbong [Marcos] still does not see the goodness of Edsa I. He continues to believe the illusion that only the Marcos family can help the Filipino people, the same illusion that his father had when he was still in Malacañang, which was why he clung to power despite the hardships of our people),” Gascon said.  

He lamented the gains of EDSA I were put to naught when President Arroyo came into power after the second people power. “Nasayang ang lahat nang umupo sa puwesto si Pangulong Arroyo. Tuluyang nabulok ang sistema ng gobyerno, nilamon ng katiwalian ang ating mga lider. Bumagsak ang ekonomiya dahil sa korupsyon. (Everything that we have gained became useless when President Arroyo came into power. The system became more rotten because corruption consumed our leaders. Our economy sank due to corruption),” he stressed. 

He said Filipinos can expect the Arroyo administration’s legacy of corruption to continue if its “secret” candidates for the May 10 national elections wins. “Sa administrasyong Villaroyo, siguradong manunumbalik ang paghihirap na dinanas nating lahat nung panahon ng diktaturya (In a Villaroyo administration, we will again suffer the hardships under a dictatorship rule),” Gascon said.

02-23-2010