By Ellson Quismorio

House Speaker, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has bared plans of becoming a consultant of the Pampanga provincial government once her term in the House of Representatives ends on June 30.

Arroyo made the revelation Friday in her hometown of Lubao, Pampanga on the occasion of her 72nd birthday.

“Sinabi ni (Pampanga) Governor (Lilia) Pineda na sabihin ko sa inyo na upang patuloy ko pa na matulungan ang Pampanga, ako ay magiging consultant ng probinsya,” Arroyo said in the Capampangan dialect following a mass held for her birthday in St. Agustin Church.

(Governor Lilia Pineda told me to tell you that in one to keep helping Pampanga, I will become consultant of the province.)

There has been wide speculation as to what the former Chief Executive would do once she finishes her term as congresswoman. Before Friday, she would repeatedly tell journalists that she only intended to “write her memoirs” once she’s done with politics.

Arroyo said she still plans to do just that.

In the same speech, Speaker Arroyo thanked all the people, who stuck with her through thick and thin.

She also said that while her legacy may not be as dramatic those of other world leaders, she would like to be remembered as the President who brought fiscal stability to her country after a global crisis that dramatically reduced poverty rate.

“I like to think that my legacy will center around restoring our country’s fiscal stability after the storms on financial crisis here and abroad. The restoration of fiscal stability was the platform for my program that built more and better infrastructures, and that reduced our poverty from 39 percent when I assumed the presidency, to 26 percent when I left the presidency,” she said.

When asked what was her birthday wish, Arroyo said it was “the good of the Filipino people always.”

Arroyo was joined by her family, husband lawyer Mike Arroyo; children, former congressmen Mikey and Dato and their children; several members of the House of Representatives, Pineda, local officials of Pampanga, and numerous other family members and friends.

Before the 8 a.m. mass, the lady Speaker joined the opening of the Hot Air Balloon Festival at Pradera Verde in Lubao, Pampanga with Governor Pineda.

Arroyo served as president from 2001 to 2010. After that, she was elected three times as representative of Pampanga’s 2nd district.

It what could be considered her lowest of lows, Arroyo was held under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City for a plunder charge between 2012 and 2016. She was acquitted by the Supreme Court under the Duterte administration.

Then, in July 2018, Arroyo completed her return to the political limelight by becoming Speaker of the House, replacing Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez.