History will look kindly at President Arroyo at the end of her nine-year term this year because she has performed well despite her sagging popularity, a Palace official said Tuesday.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar said the President may be unpopular based on recent opinion polls but it “doesn’t mean she is a failure.”

“The President governs for performance and posterity, not for popularity. In other words, these are the criteria by which we think successful leadership should be measured,” he said in a news conference at the Palace.

“Yes, I think we can say that. When we start taking the long view, we are confident that, as I said, she governs for posterity. That’s our belief,” Olivar added, when asked if the President is confident that history would judge her more kindly.

Olivar disagreed with the observation of the President's critics that she has miserably failed during her term following her poor public satisfaction rating as shown in recent surveys.

“For someone to say that someone is a failure just because he is unpopular is really limited, short sighted, and one dimensional assessment,” he said.

He said the President, who has focused more on improving the country's economic numbers, is no longer bothered by her falling popularity grade in the remainder of her term.

Mrs. Arroyo has seen her public satisfaction ratings fall amid persistent allegations of election fraud, corruption, human rights abuses, and other offenses.

“She was not bothered in the last nine years, she won’t be bothered in the last six months,” he said.

He admitted though the President would have to sustain her popularity at least among voters of the second district of Pampanga where she is seeking a congressional post in the May elections.

"But as far as the President, there is no change. She always does what she thinks is right,” he said.

When the campaign period for local candidates begins this March, Olivar said the President would continue to prioritize the presidency before her candidacy.

He said the President intends to keep that promise despite insinuations from some opposition groups she was having undue advantage in the campaign trail.

"She will continue to do her job as President through and beyond the start of the campaign period. This is her first priority," he said.