• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Arroyo works on image as Philippine foes circle

Posted on: Sunday, 17 July 2005, 21:32 CDT

By John O'Callaghan

MANILA (Reuters) - A week before a crucial policy speech, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is trying to project an image of a leader focused on the economy and the people, rather than one beset by political crisis and clinging to power.

Arroyo, fighting allegations of vote-rigging in last year's election and graft in her family, survived a wave of resignations and defections on July 8 with the support of a few key allies.

On Monday, she was due to swear in her new finance and budget secretaries -- Margarito Teves and Romulo Neri -- and meet loyal members of Congress and youth leaders at the presidential palace.

In a week's time, on July 25, she is to give an annual state of the nation address as Congress returns from recess with impeachment talk in the air.

A rally by 120,000 supporters on Saturday upstaged a protest by her foes earlier in the week, but opposition politicians said plans to present Arroyo as a friendlier, more empathetic person would not restore her lost credibility.

"She can smile or dance but people won't believe her anymore. It's too little, too late," Senator Sergio Osmena told reporters.

Roman Catholic bishops, a powerful moral and political force, gave Arroyo a reprieve on July 10 by refusing to join calls that she resign but said an investigation of the 2004 election and impeachment moves in Congress would not be against the Gospel.

The incoming president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said attempts to resolve the crisis with a new constitution and shift to a parliamentary system were doomed if politicians did not change their ways.

"If people in leadership are products of warped and wobbling values, what can we expect but to have a warped and wobbling republic," Archbishop Angel Lagdameo told the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper.

NEW LOOK, FAMILIAR WOES

Weeks of turmoil have kept investors on edge and raised fears that a protracted impeachment process or constitutional debate will distract from reforms to raise revenues and cut debt.

The peso opened at 55.78 to the dollar on Monday, slightly stronger than its close at 55.845 on Friday. The main stock index was up 0.7 percent in early trade.

The opposition is warming to an impeachment motion, conceding Arroyo is unlikely to be forced out by protests nowhere near the size and social breadth of "people power" revolts that toppled presidents in 1986 and 2001.

While defections among Arroyo's allies have raised opposition hopes of gathering enough support to start the impeachment process, analysts say her supporters in the Senate will make it difficult to convict her.

An impeachment motion needs 79 votes, or one third of the lower house of Congress, to go to a trial by the upper house's 23 senators. An impeachment conviction in the Senate, which would sack the president, needs two-thirds of the senators' votes.

As the crisis erupted in early June, Arroyo's ratings were already the lowest of any leader since dictator Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown in 1986.

The daughter of a late president, Arroyo is perceived to be aloof and lacking in warmth. Her work ethic is unquestioned but aides say she likes to have a hand in all decisions.

The Inquirer accused Arroyo's team of running last year's election campaign all over again as its crisis strategy.

"This is a gross error, because it mistakes mere motion for actual movement," the paper said in an editorial on Monday. "Not least, it hardens public perception that political survival is indeed President Macapagal Arroyo's only objective."

Source: REUTERS

More News in this Category