Gloria Arroyo declared RP president, seeks unity<\/p>\n
Stuart Grudgings, Reuters, Manila<\/p>\n
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, fresh from being
\ndeclared winner of May's election, reached out to her opponents
\non Thursday for help in tackling corruption, poverty,
\ninsurgencies and a restive military.<\/p>\n
Underlining the bitter political divisions Arroyo faces in her
\nfresh six-year term, several opposition senators walked out of
\nCongress in disgust before her proclamation as president in the
\nearly on morning. Her formal inauguration is set for June 30.<\/p>\n
Police in riot gear blocked scattered demonstrations by
\nleftist groups and supporters of Arroyo's main rival, action
\nmovie star Fernando Poe Jr, but there was no violence.<\/p>\n
A joint session of Congress, heavily weighted with Arroyo's
\nallies, approved a report by a panel of lawmakers showing the
\nU.S.-trained economist beat Poe narrowly. His camp alleges there
\nwas widespread cheating in her favor.<\/p>\n
\"To my detractors, I appeal for unity and to my supporters for
\nan open mind,\" Arroyo told reporters after her proclamation.
\n\"This is the time for forgiveness and letting go of the past.\"<\/p>\n
After a marathon tally from the general election on May 10,
\nthe panel said on Sunday that Arroyo defeated Poe by one million
\nvotes or about 3 percent. Her running mate, former newsreader
\nNoli de Castro, won the vice presidency by a similar margin.<\/p>\n
Poe's allies accuse Arroyo of being a \"bogus\" president and
\nthe government says it expects more demonstrations in coming
\ndays. Officials say a group linked to the opposition was behind
\nthree bombs found and defused in Manila this week.<\/p>\n
\"This body has short-changed our people,\" Edgardo Angara, an
\nopposition senator, said. \"This body has lost its moral bearing.\"<\/p>\n
Financial markets barely moved after Arroyo's proclamation, as
\nthe results of the vote count were well-known. The peso gained
\nslightly against the dollar but stocks were flat.<\/p>\n
Arroyo was seen as the most market-friendly candidate but
\ninvestors have doubts she can push desperately needed reforms to
\nbring in more revenue and privatize National Power Corp., which
\nis losing around 100 billion pesos (US$1.8 billion) a year.<\/p>\n
\"One of the problems in the Philippines is that it's a
\ncongressional set-up, so even though technically her party has a
\nmajority, it's a very loose coalition,\" said Nicholas Bibby,
\nstrategist at Barclays Capital in Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"Vested interests is the best way of putting it.\"<\/p>\n
Arroyo must balance the need to pay political debts and make
\npeace with her enemies against putting the right talent in place
\nto implement bold pledges such as creating one million jobs a
\nyear and eliminating persistent budget deficits by 2009.<\/p>\n
After Arroyo managed only a slim victory over the politically
\ninexperienced film star, analysts say she has to address concerns
\nthat her new term will not be fraught with the instability and
\nlack of bold reforms that marked her last three years in office.<\/p>\n
Supporters hope that once the political noise dies down, an
\nemboldened Arroyo will push painful but necessary changes in key
\nareas such as electoral reform and tax collection.<\/p>\n
\"Most of us want government to start working, focused on what
\nis important and unbridled by contrived issues from past
\nelections,\" Alex Magno, a political analyst and Arroyo ally,
\nwrote in the Philippine Star newspaper.<\/p>\n
Arroyo, a staunch ally in the U.S.-led \"war on terror\", was
\ninstalled as president in 2001 when protests toppled Joseph
\nEstrada as leader 15 years after the original \"people power\"
\nuprising deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos.<\/p>\n
The return to democracy has been tarnished by graft, poverty,
\ndebt that has grown to nearly 80 percent of gross domestic
\nproduct, conflict with Muslim and communist rebels, and a series
\nof military uprisings -- the latest put down by Arroyo last July.<\/p>",
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