Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is a politician from the Philippines who later served as the nation’s first female vice president and for two terms as its president. Gloria Macapagal, the daughter of former president Diosdado Macapagal, did not consider a career in politics when she was young. She majored in economics and earned a Ph.D. in it before working as a professor at some of the top universities in the Philippines. She began working under Corazon Aquino’s administration in 1987 as an undersecretary in the Department of Trade and Industry. She served as a senator for six years, from 1992 to 1998, before being chosen to serve as Joseph Estrada’s vice president. From 2001 to 2010, she presided over the Philippines as president. She had to defend herself against accusations of impeachment, put an end to internal unrest, and deal with terrorist threats during her turbulent reign. After her second term as president came to a close, she found herself in serious problems after being accused of electoral fraud and corruption, which resulted in her being imprisoned. She was cleared of all charges in 2016.
Early Childhood & Life
Diosdado Macapagal and Evangelina Macaraeg Macapagal welcomed Gloria Macapagal Arroyo into the world on April 5, 1947 in San Juan, Philippines. His father was an elected official who later served as president of the Philippines. Her two half-sisters were.
She spent her early years living in Iligan City with her maternal grandmother from the age of four to seven, after which she alternated between Manila and Mindanao. She moved permanently to Manila in 1961 after his father was elected president.
She completed her studies at the Assumption Convent and received her diploma in 1964. She attended the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, after graduating from high school. Bill Clinton, a former US president, was in her Walsh School class.
She continued her education at Assumption College in Makati City, Philippines, where she graduated in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. She graduated with a master’s in economics from Ataneo de Manila University in 1978.
Career of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo began teaching economics in 1977, and for the following ten years, she did so concurrently at a number of different schools, including the University of the Philippines and Ataneo de Manila University. She also received her economics doctorate around this time from the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.
Gloria accepted an offer to become the Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry from the Philippines’ then-President Corazon Aquino in 1987.
She entered electoral politics in 1992 and was elected to the Senate. She was a senator for six years, and during that time, she co-authored or supported a number of significant pieces of legislation, including the Export Development Act, the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, and the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made the decision to run for president in 1998, but she ultimately opted to run for vice president. She won the election and became the first woman to serve as vice president of the Philippines. She was also the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development in the cabinet. In response to accusations of corruption against the previous president Joseph Estrada, Arroyo resigned two years into her term.
In the same year that Arroyo assumed the presidency, President Joseph Estrada was pushed from the White House by angry protesters who were outraged by the corruption scandal he was reportedly associated with. She had to put an end to a coup by disgruntled soldiers, and President Estrada’s followers continued to protest during her rule.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo decided to run for president in 2004, at the end of his first term, and she won on the strength of a campaign that focused on fighting corruption and boosting the economy. She was charged with election fraud the next year, but despite a case being brought against her, she was not removed from office.
Arroyo dealt with a military takeover in 2006 and imposed a week-long state of emergency in the Philippines at the same time. When one of her political allies assassinated an opponent three years later, Arroyo declared martial law in Mindanao and cut all links with the responsible allies.
After her second term as president came to an end in 2010, Arroyo was elected to the House of Representatives from Pampanga’s 2nd District. She was placed under medical detention in 2011 after her arrest on suspicion of sabotaging the election. Arroyo, though, denied the accusations and entered a not guilty plea.
In addition to being accused of stealing $8.8 million from the state lottery funds in 2012, Arroyo and her husband were also found to have embezzled money from a Chinese telecom company. She was then taken to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center and placed under hospital arrest.
She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2013, but she remained imprisoned at the Veteran’s Medical Center despite efforts to secure bail on the grounds of her poor health.
By a majority of 11-4 on July 19, 2016, the Supreme Court cleared her of all corruption-related accusations.
Bigger Works of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has a long political career and held many significant roles. In 2001, when the Philippines was being torn apart by anti-corruption riots, his most crucial contribution was to restore peace.
Personal Legacy & Life
In 1968, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wed Jose Miguel Arroyo. Her husband worked as an attorney and in business. The pair is parents to Evangelina, a daughter, Juan, and Diosdado, two sons.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Net Worth
Gloria is one of the wealthiest and most well-liked politicians. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million based on our analysis of information from sources including Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.