I have family bond with Megawati: Arroyo

I have family bond with Megawati: Arroyo

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The women's caucus in Association of Southeast Asian Nations began with the dads.

Though both are new presidents, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines said on Thursday that she and Indonesia's Megawati Sukarnoputri go way back.

"President Megawati and I have a special family bond," Arroyo told a news conference wrapping up a three-day visit to Malaysia.

"Aside from the fact that we are both women, our fathers were very good friends," Arroyo said. "They were like brothers. Both she and I have expressed to each other that we want to continue that friendship into our generation."

Arroyo's father was the late Diosdado Macapagal, president of the Philippines from 1962 until 1965, the last president before the 28-year reign of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Megawati is the daughter of Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno, who was deposed in 1966 by one of his generals, Soeharto, amid communist agitation and military-led massacres.

Supported by their respective militaries, both women came to power this year to replace predecessors deemed incompetent and corrupt -- Joseph Estrada in the Philippines and Abdurrahman Wahid. Though the circumstances were chaotic, the women are generally considered to have taken office via democratic means.

Arroyo noted that she was eligible to run election in 2004 and said: "I'm not aiming to be a great president. The important thing is to be a good president."

Asked if she could foresee the ASEAN leaders women's club expand to three members with the addition of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi, Arroyo fell back on the group's policy of non- interference.