Born on April 5, 1947, to the ninth President of the Republic of the Philippines, Diosdado P. Macapagal, and the former Dr. Evangelina Macaraeg, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was destined to lead the country like her father did.
A graduate of the Assumption Convent School, finishing her elementary and high school education in 1960 and 1964, in the latter as valedictorian of her class, she proceeded to Georgetown University in the United States to study for her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from 1964 to 1966. She returned to the country to complete the degree at her alma mater, Assumption College, graduating magna cum laude. She subsequently took and completed her Master of Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University and her Doctor of Philosophy of Economics at the University of the Philippines School of Economics.
She joined the faculty of various institutions from the mid 1970s to the late 1980s. These institutions include Ateneo de Manila University, Assumption College, the University of the Philippines School of Economics, Maryknoll College, and St. Scholastica’s College.
She started her public service career in 1987 when she was appointed Assistant Secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry. The following year, she was assigned to hold concurrently the position of Executive Director of the Garments and Textile Export Board. In 1989, she was promoted to Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, a post she held until she went into elective politics in 1992.
Elected as Senator of the Republic in 1992, she filed and sponsored a number of economic reform bills. Due to her outstanding record as a legislator, she was drafted as the vice-presidential candidate of her party in 1997 and won the vice-presidential elections in 1998. As Vice President, she also held the portfolio of Secretary of Social Welfare and Development and implemented programs that targeted the most vulnerable sectors, providing then assistance to assist them in improving their material welfare.
In 2001, she assumed the presidency after a popular uprising deposed her predecessor.
She ran for election for the presidency in 2004 and won a full-term, a term that will expire on June 30, 2010.
Having steered the nation for close to a decade, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has definitely contributed to maintaining the momentum for economic growth amidst global difficulties.
We greet President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on the occasion of her 63rd Birthday and wish her many more years of good health and success in all her endeavors.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
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