Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Biography Quotes 10 Report mistakes

Early Life and Family Background
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was born on April 5, 1947, in San Juan, then part of Rizal province in the Philippines. She is the daughter of Diosdado Macapagal, who would become the country's president from 1961 to 1965, and Evangelina Macaraeg Macapagal, a physician. Growing up during her father's public career, she spent formative years in and around Malacanang Palace, observing the demands and rituals of public service. Her family environment was steeped in politics, scholarship, and civic duty, shaping a work ethic and sense of political possibility that would define her adult life. She shared that upbringing with siblings, including Cielo Macapagal-Salgado and half-brother Arturo Macapagal, and learned early how statecraft and family life intersect.

Education and Academic Career
Arroyo attended the Assumption Convent (now Assumption College) and later studied abroad at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service from 1965 to 1967, where future U.S. president Bill Clinton was a schoolmate. She returned to the Philippines to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, graduating magna cum laude from Assumption College in 1968. She pursued graduate training intensively, earning a master's degree in economics from Ateneo de Manila University and a doctorate in economics from the University of the Philippines. Before entering electoral politics, she taught economics, notably at Ateneo de Manila University, where one of her students was the future president Benigno Aquino III. This academic grounding in macroeconomics and development policy later informed her governance, especially her emphasis on fiscal reforms and trade.

Family and Personal Life
In 1968 she married lawyer Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo. The couple raised three children: Juan Miguel "Mikey", Evangelina Lourdes "Luli", and Diosdado "Dato". Over time, family members developed their own public profiles, with Mikey and Dato later serving in the House of Representatives. The family's visibility, alongside the legacy of her father, anchored Arroyo within a wider political network that became both a resource and a source of scrutiny during her career.

Entry into Government
Arroyo's technocratic credentials first brought her into government after the 1986 People Power Revolution. Under President Corazon Aquino, she served in the Department of Trade and Industry, eventually as undersecretary and head of the Garments and Textile Export Board. In those roles she dealt with export promotion, foreign investors, and industry groups, gaining practical experience in economic policy implementation. Her performance and profile encouraged a transition to elective office.

Senator and Vice President
In 1992 Arroyo won a Senate seat and focused on economic modernization, competition policy, and social welfare legislation. She won reelection in 1995, becoming one of the Senate's most prominent advocates for market-oriented reforms intertwined with safety nets. In 1998 she ran for vice president on the Lakas-NUCD ticket allied with House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.'s presidential bid. Although De Venecia lost to Joseph Estrada, Arroyo won the vice presidency, the first woman to do so in Philippine history. Estrada appointed her Secretary of Social Welfare and Development, a portfolio that brought her into direct contact with local governments, civil society, and poverty programs. In October 2000, amid mounting corruption allegations against Estrada, she resigned from the cabinet and joined a broadening opposition.

Ascent to the Presidency
In January 2001, after the collapse of Estrada's impeachment trial and large street protests often called EDSA II, key military and political figures withdrew support from the administration. Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. swore Arroyo in as president on January 20, 2001. The transition was backed by civil society leaders and clergy, including those inspired by the precedent of Jaime Cardinal Sin during the 1986 uprising. The Supreme Court recognized the transfer of power; Estrada disputed it, but Arroyo consolidated control with the support of figures such as Armed Forces chief Angelo Reyes and congressional leaders like Jose de Venecia Jr.

Policies, Economy, and Security
Arroyo's presidency emphasized fiscal stabilization, infrastructure, and job creation. Her administration championed the Expanded Value-Added Tax (E-VAT), a politically costly reform that broadened the VAT base and ultimately raised the rate, improving revenue and stabilizing public finances. Credit ratings gradually improved, and the economy grew in the mid-2000s, buoyed by remittances from overseas Filipino workers and the rapid expansion of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. She promoted the Strong Republic Nautical Highway to improve inter-island connectivity and signed measures such as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act, the Renewable Energy Act, and later the Magna Carta of Women.

Security policy focused on a mix of negotiations and force. Her government pursued talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front while also conducting operations against Abu Sayyaf and other armed groups in the south, with assistance from the United States through security cooperation. Some peace efforts advanced, yet the 2008 Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain was struck down by the Supreme Court, and fighting flared in parts of Mindanao.

Controversies and Political Turmoil
Her tenure was marked by significant controversy. After she ran for a full six-year term in 2004 and defeated Fernando Poe Jr., allegations of electoral irregularities intensified when recordings surfaced in 2005 of conversations attributed to Arroyo and election official Virgilio Garcillano. She publicly apologized for a "lapse in judgment" in speaking with an election officer, but denied cheating. The scandal triggered calls for resignation, street protests, and the resignation of several senior officials known as the "Hyatt 10", including finance secretary Cesar Purisima and social welfare secretary Dinky Soliman. A state of emergency was declared briefly in 2006 amid reports of a coup plot.

Further allegations arose around the National Broadband Network (NBN) project with China's ZTE Corporation. Testimony from figures such as Romulo Neri and Jose de Venecia III, and investigations involving Commission on Elections chair Benjamin Abalos, fueled claims of bribery and bid manipulation. Although the project was eventually cancelled, the episode deepened public mistrust. Human rights groups criticized the administration for extrajudicial killings and impunity; the government argued that it was confronting insurgency and criminality while undertaking justice reforms.

Foreign Relations
Arroyo aligned closely with the United States after the September 11 attacks, engaging with President George W. Bush on counterterrorism and economic issues. In 2003, after the kidnapping of Filipino worker Angelo de la Cruz in Iraq, she ordered the early withdrawal of a small Philippine contingent, a move that satisfied domestic opinion but strained relations with Washington. She also cultivated ties with China, pursuing infrastructure and trade deals, while maintaining links with Japan and ASEAN partners. The balance between great-power relationships, domestic economics, and security needs defined her foreign policy approach.

Final Years in Office
Despite political headwinds, Arroyo served out her term until 2010. She appointed numerous officials to the judiciary and other institutions, most prominently Chief Justice Renato Corona, whose "midnight appointment" status became a political issue in the succeeding administration. Macro indicators at the end of her tenure showed improved fiscal ratios and steady growth, but public debates over corruption, governance, and human rights overshadowed many policy gains.

Post-Presidency and Legal Battles
Barred by the constitution from seeking another presidential term, Arroyo ran for and won a seat as representative of Pampanga's second district in 2010. Her post-presidential years were dominated by legal cases. In 2012 she was arrested on plunder charges related to the alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds and placed under hospital arrest due to serious spinal ailments. After years of litigation, the Supreme Court acquitted her in 2016, leading to her release. During this period and afterward, her husband Mike Arroyo and children continued to draw media attention as allies and critics debated the cases' merits and political context.

Return to Legislative Leadership
Arroyo returned to the House of Representatives and, in July 2018, was elected Speaker following the ouster of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. She became the first woman to hold that post, overseeing legislative priorities in the final year of that Congress. Her speakership was marked by efforts to advance infrastructure funding and economic measures while maintaining a working relationship with the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's former ally in Mindanao policy and law-and-order initiatives. She stepped down from the speakership in 2019 at the close of the term.

Legacy
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's public life blends technocratic expertise, political resilience, and enduring controversy. As the daughter of Diosdado Macapagal and the wife of Jose Miguel Arroyo, she stood at the intersection of family legacy and modern political networks. Her presidency delivered structural fiscal reforms, expanded infrastructure, and helped launch sectors that underpinned later growth, even as the "Hello Garci" tapes, the NBN-ZTE affair, and human rights concerns shadowed her record. She taught economics and later taught the nation a different sort of lesson: how governance mixes policy, power, and perception. The arc of her career, from classroom to cabinet, from EDSA II to the speakership, unfolded alongside other central figures of contemporary Philippine politics, including Corazon Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Benigno Aquino III, and Rodrigo Duterte. The final assessment of her leadership continues to be debated by scholars, voters, and many of the same people who once surrounded her in the crucible of power.

Our collection contains 10 quotes who is written by Gloria, under the main topics: Motivational - Justice - Equality - Peace - Legacy & Remembrance.

• 2001 Regional Cooperation for Asian Recovery and Sustained Growth in the 21st Century: East Asian Vision Group Report (Book)
• 2000 Macro-regionalism: Emerging Vision of a Connected Asia and Europe (Book)
• 1999 The Emerging Asian Middle Class: Implications for the Economy, Politics, Habitat, and the Person (Book)

• Wikipedia