Jose Miguel Arroyo


José Miguel Tuason Arroyo, also known as Mike Arroyo, is a former First Gentleman of the Philippines. A lawyer by profession, he is the husband of former president and house speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He is the first and, to date, only male spouse of a president of the Philippines, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Family and personal life

Arroyo's great-great-grandparents were Ignacio Arroyo and Doña María Pidal, who had three children: Maria Beatriz del Rosario Arroyo ; José María Arroyo; and Mariano Arroyo. José María became a senator in 1919, whilst Mariano was elected governor of Iloilo province in Western Visayas region in 1928. Senator José María Arroyo and his wife, Jesusa Araneta-Lacson of Negros Occidental; who is the daughter of Gen. Aniceto Lacson, produced seven children, one of whom was his father, Ignacio Lacson Arroyo.
The younger Ignacio subsequently married Lourdes Zaragoza Tuason and had two sons and a daughter, Jose Miguel, his brother, Ignacio Jr., and sister Ma. Lourdes.
Jose Miguel is married to Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal in 1968, and the couple has three children: Juan Miguel ; Evangelina Lourdes ; and Diosdado. Luli married former investment banker and director of the Ayala Foundation, J. Aloysius "Luigi" Bernas on November 5, 2008.

Public life

In the 1960s, Arroyo was the publisher of the teen-oriented magazine Teenstone, a publication set up by guitarist Ramon Jacinto and his group the Rioteers.
Arroyo's major project whilst occupying the role of the First Gentleman was the sourcing of funds for the training of Filipino athletes in preparation for the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, for which the Philippines was the host nation.

Health

The former First Gentleman's fragile health has been a public affair since April 9, 2007, when he underwent open heart surgery after being diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. The procedure lasted for ten hours but was considered successful, and 22 days after the operation, Arroyo had almost completely recovered and was discharged from hospital. However, Arroyo's health since 2007 has been described as "questionable", with serious abdominal pains resulting in an emergency landing in 2008, and another heart-related hospital visit in 2010.

Controversies

During the period his wife's rule, Arroyo became the subject of a congressional investigation on allegations of corruption, including those by his wife's administration, led him to opt for voluntary exile as a management technique.

Awards and decorations