Such a move would strike right at Arroyo's own social and economic class. For a fairer distribution of the country's wealth, the elite will have to give up some of their advantages. Many of the Philippines' rich are chronic tax evaders living in fabulous homes in security-ringed villages. The government seems to be making some of the right first steps. One of the first announcements from new Finance Secretary Alberto Romulo was a tax warning to the rich.
Nobody is above the law.
Press reports say Arroyo has already drawn up an agenda for her first 100 days in office. Relatives of the president will also be barred from participating in business transactions with the government. A major push by the new government will be in micro-finance. This is an area that interests the president's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo. He is hoping to build an operation along the lines of the hugely successful Grameen bank in Bangladesh, which offers the poor small business loans at nominal interest.