Araullo criticized the subsidies provided by the Arroyo regime as band-aid solutions. She maintained that for eight years, Arroyo did not heed the people’s demands – land and agricultural support for farmers, wage hike and jobs for workers, affordable education for the youth, decent living for the urban poor, eradication of corruption.
The Bayan leader also hit Arroyo’s refusal to remove the value-added tax on petroleum products. “Bakit ayaw niya? Dahil tumatabo ang gobyerno ng bilyon-bilyong kita mula rito…pambayad utang, pantustos sa luho habang lugmok sa kahirapan ang mamamayan.” (Why does she refuse to? Because the government earns billions of pesos from VAT … to pay for debts, to spend for luxury while the Filipino people are deeply mired in poverty.) Araullo said that Arroyo’s recent US trip was a junket.
