When Mrs. Arroyo took the office in 2001 after President Estrada was toppled down due to corruption and abuse of power, everyone thought Mrs. Arroyo will lead the country to a better Philippines.  But now some sectors are blaming the outgoing President for a budget deficit of P199 billion allegedly due to economic mismanagement.

Mrs. Arroyo might have proved herself as a good leader, but the scandals thrown at her and some members of her family and cabinet officials undermine her credibility and doubted her capability to lead. These scandals include the NBN-ZTE deal, Jose Pidal, the Fertilizer fund scam, Jueteng controversy, Cash handouts, the World Bank loan, NorthRail Project, and the SouthRail Project – all happened in the span of nine years. She denied all the accusations though against her and her family.

Mrs. Arroyo’s leadership and how she beat the odds is presented in a book written by Renato S. Velasco and Ricado L. Saludo. The book called “Beating the Odds” discusses how she was able to go about the crisis that tainted her incumbency.

The book contains pressing issues such as budget deficit and the developments in the Mindanao Peace Process, similar issues that President-elect Noynoy Aquino will have to deal with in the next six years.