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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Please pray for my family': Arroyo opens up about personal problems in Facebook post

'Please pray for my family': Arroyo opens up about personal problems in Facebook post

Published Mar 31, 2025 02:15 pm

At A Glance

  • Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the incumbent Pampanga 2nd district congresswoman, sought prayers from the nation on Monday night, March 31 in a rare social media post wherein she openly shared very personal matters to her followers.

FB_IMG_1743429730737.jpgPampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (left), former congressman Mikey Arroyo (Facebook)

Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is as tough as they come in Philippine politics; a true survivor.

But even survivors yearn for prayers of support when challenges pile up and become too much to bear.

That's what Arroyo, the incumbent Pampanga 2nd district congresswoman, sought from the nation on Monday night, March 31 in a rare social media post wherein she openly shared very personal matters to her followers.

"This has been a difficult time for the family," Arroyo wrote in a post on her verified Facebook account.

"First, my husband Mike's dissecting aortic aneurism that required an emergency repair in 2007 is expanding again, and he will have to undergo a big surgery, combining a bypass and an aortoplasty, on April 7 to avert another emergency," she said.

"Then, our son Mikey's biopsy-revealed Stage One cancer of the thyroid gland, and he underwent surgery last March 18, thankfully, a successful one," added Arroyo, who served as Philippine president from 2001 to 2010.

She also shared a tragedy in the family amid these medical emergencies. "Meanwhile, Paowee Tantoco, the husband of our niece Dina, who spent the first four years of her life in our home, passed away."

FB_IMG_1727746659192.jpgPampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Facebook)

MUST READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2025/3/19/gloria-macapagal-arroyo-visits-son-mikey-after-his-surgery

"I have been spending much time with my constituents in Pampanga because I will be leaving soon for Singapore for Mike's surgery," the congresswoman and former House Speaker added.

In a most earnest appeal, she concluded her post by saying: "Please pray for my family."

Arroyo, 77, the chairperson emeritus of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), is running for reelection in her district in the May 12 mid-term elections.

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