The Philippine Online Chronicles

Outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the flag-raising ceremonies for the country’s 112th Independence Day at Rizal Park early this morning and the grand parade highlighting her administration’s achievements in the past nine years later in the afternoon.

The civic-military parade, which was the main event of the Independence Day celebration, featured 10 floats that represent Arroyo’s 10-point agenda. A huge Precint Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine float also figured in the parade, according to ANC.

President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III failed to show up at the Independence Day main event, even as some among the crowd expected him to come.

Other ranking government officials led flag-raising ceremonies in other parts of the country, GMANews.tv reported.

Chief Justice Renato Corona led ceremonies in Kawit, Cavite while Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Oscar Inocentes led wreath-laying ceremonies at the monument of Andres Bonifacio in Caloocan City, the same report said.

During the wine ceremonies in the evening, Arroyo, who will serve as congresswoman of Pampanga when she steps down on June 30, boasted of her legacy of a strong and stable economy.

"I did not seek the Office of the President in 2001; it was thrust upon me. Rather than shrink from this ominous task, I rolled up my sleeves, determined to turn the Philippines around,'' Arroyo said in a speech before foreign diplomats, Inquirer.net reported.

“Revenues are up, the debt to GDP (gross domestic product) are down, our debt servicing is more manageable than before,” the President said in a report.

Arroyo added that she was able to reverse the shocks of the global economic crisis, create more jobs and lure more foreign investments.

The government spent P10 million for the last Independence Day celebration under Arroyo – an amount slammed by critics as costly spending for publicity gimmickry by the President.

“The money spent for the parade is ridiculous taken in the context of the biggest budget deficit in history last year, P293 billion, set by the outgoing government,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said in a statement.

‘Protest parade’

While the Arroyo administration held its expensive parade of floats, militant groups held their “protest parade” to denounce Arroyo’s grim legacy to the Filipinos and the sham independence of the country.

The militants’ parade featured makeshift floats symbolizing corruption, massive unemployment, human rights violations, environmental degradation, poverty, oil price hikes and other issues that form Arroyo’s “legacy of failure,” Bayan said in a statement.

Various groups marched to the US Embassy, where they held a brief program to condemn the continued intervention of the United States on local affairs as well as the continued presence of US military troops in the country.

For its part, labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno pointed out the irony of US intervention in the conduct of Philippine elections, alleging that the outcome of the May 10 automated polls favored the US.

“A barrage of praises from the world’s superpower indicates that the US government has ensured Aquino would have a landslide victory over his rivals via pre-programmed flash cards,” KMU alleged, adding that the US had wanted Arroyo replaced by Aquino to secure its interests in the country.

It also alleged that Smartmatic, the private partner of the government in last elections, has intertwined interests with the US government.

Later during the day, US President Barack Obama sent his Independence Day greetings to Filipinos in a statement.

“I am confident that our nations, sharing in our democratic principles, will continue our strong friendship and cooperation," Obama said in his message.

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