Arroyo vs. Arroyo

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is poised to veto the Right of Reply Bill--a bill whose principal sponsor is Senator Aquilino Pimentel. The bill seeks to give those criticized by the media an equal opportunity to hear their side by way of reply. And in the words of Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella, who is also pushing for another version of Right of Reply Bill in the Lower House, the objective is "to level the playing field in journalism."

The purported vetoing of the bill by Ms. Arroyo is a reckless political maneuver, precisely aimed at gaining "brownie points from the media." By vetoing the bill, Mrs. Arroyo would appear as though she is a champion of the press. Thus, she'll be spared from the critical eye of the media.

But no, says Senator Joker Arroyo. “Even if the President sides with the media on this, she will still be attacked by the media,” Mr. Arroyo was quoted as saying.

Doing less with more

Philippine Star reports:

For 17 straight years, Sen. Joker Arroyo has remained the undisputed “Scrooge of Congress” for being the thriftiest, most frugal, tight-fisted, penny-pinching lawmaker.

The officially published Itemized List of Expenses of each senator for 2007 as audited by Commission on Audit (COA) showed that Arroyo had the lowest expenses for incumbent senators who served the full 12 months.

COA statistics showed that the senator incurred expenses of P12,293,084.06.

Only Sen. Manuel Villar came close, spending P12,442,323.98. Villar was ousted last November following speculations that he may have used his previous position as Senate President to pursue his presidential plans.

The COA report showed actors-turned-senators were the biggest spenders. Sen. Bong Revilla was on top with P15,889,626.66 followed by President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada with P15,449,229.69. Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan’s expenses amounted to P15,271,305.21 while Sen. Lito Lapid spent P15,103,242.15.

What can I say? Well, kudos to Joker Arroyo for being frugal. To our guapo Senators for being wasteful, Adios! Your motto seems to be, "Doing less with more."

For a related account on the spending of Congress, read PCIJ's report: An Expensive---and Unaccountable---Legislature.