Arroyo takes breather as opponents plan huge protest<\/p>\n
Bill Tarrant, Manila\/Reuters<\/p>\n
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won a reprieve after powerful
\nPhilippine bishops stopped short of demanding she quit, but the
\nopposition vowed no let-up on Monday in a campaign to drive her
\nfrom office.<\/p>\n
Investors fretted markets would become increasingly volatile
\nif the opposition takes its campaign to the streets while trying
\nto impeach her -- the way Arroyo's predecessor, Joseph Estrada,
\nwas forced from power.<\/p>\n
Stocks fell and the peso weakened after Standard & Poor's and
\nFitch Ratings downgraded outlooks for the Philippines, citing
\nturmoil over allegations of vote-rigging against Arroyo and a
\ncourt freeze on a tax hike intended to address the government's
\nchronic budget deficit.<\/p>\n
National police chief Arturo Lomibao said the 15,000-strong
\nforce in the capital was on full alert, as authorities braced for
\nprotests this week.<\/p>\n
Various anti-Arroyo groups, noting the bishops had blessed
\nnon-violent appeals for her resignation, vowed to assemble a
\nmillion people in Manila's business district on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The opposition has yet to muster more than several thousand
\nprotesters, far short of the hundreds of thousands who helped
\ntopple dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Estrada in 2001.<\/p>\n
The Catholic Church, which played a decisive role in the
\nouster of Marcos and Estrada, has been a power-broker in the
\nPhilippines since the Spanish conquered the country in the 16th
\ncentury. But the Bishops in their statement on Sunday said they
\nno longer believed in "intrusion into politics" under new Pope
\nBenedict.<\/p>\n
The size of the crowd on Wednesday will be a gauge of how much
\nthe public really cares about the crisis, which has played out so
\nfar among politicians on the airwaves, in Congress and among
\nback-room power-brokers.<\/p>\n
Police were worried militant groups such as Abu Sayyaf and the
\ncommunist New People's Army might infiltrate the protests and
\ncreate trouble.<\/p>\n
Communist guerrillas have been waging a countryside war since
\n1969 to overthrow the Philippine government, which also faces
\nMuslim separatist rebels and home-grown militants such as Abu
\nSayyaf with links to al-Qaeda and Jamaah Islamiyah.<\/p>\n
Former president Corazon Aquino, who was carried to power on
\nthe first "people power" uprising, appealed again on Monday to
\nArroyo to resign so the crisis could end quickly and the nation
\nwould be spared a tumultuous impeachment process.<\/p>\n
Arroyo's presidency had hung in the balance awaiting the
\njudgment of the bishops on Sunday, after last week's mass
\nresignation of her economic team and desertions of political and
\nbusiness allies.<\/p>\n
With the clergy giving her at least temporary reprieve from
\nthe clamour for her to quit, her backers are now seeking to steer
\nso far unproven allegations of election fraud and corruption in
\nher family into an impeachment trial in Congress.<\/p>\n
The opposition is reluctant to pursue that route because of
\nthe president's majorities in both houses, calling it a "trap".<\/p>\n
A senior cabinet minister, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita,
\ntold radio on Monday the bishops had reinforced Arroyo's resolve
\nnot to resign.<\/p>\n
But they also said Arroyo's apology, for "a lapse in judgment"
\nin speaking to an election official while votes were being
\ncounted last year, was insufficient.<\/p>\n
Photo on Page 12<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/arroyo-takes-breather-as-opponents-plan-huge-protest-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }