Manila: Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, slammed her successor Benigno Aquino's "vacuum of vision" while accused him of mounting a vilification campaign to cover for his administration's shortcomings.

In critique of incumbent leader Benigno Aquino III's administration entitled "It's the economy student" Arroyo lambasted Aquino's supposed "obsessive pursuit of political warfare" that she said has slowed down the country's economy.

Arroyo tried to demonstrate that she was capable of delivering more than empty political catch phrases.

"When I stepped down from the presidency in June 2010, I was able to turn over to the next administration a new Philippines with a 7.9 per cent growth rate. That growth rate capped 38 quarters of uninterrupted economic growth despite escalating global oil and food prices, two world recessions, Central and West Asian wars, mega-storms and virulent global epidemics," she said.

Aquino had been a former student of Arroyo at the Ateneo de Manila University, the ex-economics professor wrote the economic paper while in detention at a government hospital for the charge of electoral sabotage, she similarly warned that the economic gains that her administration had achieved could be squandered by the Aquino administration's vilification drive and poor economic management.

She said that her administration had been able to give access to education to nine out of every ten Filipinos, build new classrooms and create nine million jobs.

"We built roads and bridges, ports and airports, irrigation and education facilities. To millions of poor, we provided free or subsidised rice…"

She said that when she turned over the economy to the Aquino government, whe had been confident that the new President would continue the growth momentum.

"However, the evidence is mounting that my optimism was misplaced.

Our growth in the 3rd quarter 2011 was only 3.7 per cent--well below all forecasts that had already been successively downgraded. The momentum inherited by President Aquino from my administration is slowing down…" she said.

She advised Aquino to "start working, prepare and plan ahead and stop blaming others for his inadequacies."

"Unfortunately, planning and preparation seem to be absent from this administration whether its for taking overseas Filipinos out of harm's way on short notice, or by evacuating flood victim,s---or rescuing tourists held by a gunman," she said as she referred to the bloody rescue debacle in Luneta in 2010 that led to the death of eight hostages.

Likewise, Arroyo, a known workaholic, criticised Aquino for being slack in his work ethic.

"Neither the President nor anyone else can truly expect to govern in the next five years with nothing but a sorry mix of vilification, periodically recycled promises of action followed by lethargy, backed few is any results," she said.

On the part of the presidential palace, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda derided Arroyo's tirades as simply "sour graping," by a former leader besieged by corruption and accusations of impropriety.