The Hindu : International : Arroyo asks entire Cabinet to resign

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Friday, Jul 08, 2005

International

International

Arroyo asks entire Cabinet to resign

I will not quit, says the President

``Our political system has degenerated to such an extent that it is very difficult to live within the system with hands totally untainted,'' she said.

MANILA: Fighting for her political life, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on Thursday she was being unfairly demonised and asked her entire Cabinet to resign.

The comments in a radio address were another pre-emptive move by the increasingly desperate Ms. Arroyo, who is trying to fend off allegations that she fixed last year's election.

Rumours emerged earlier in the day that at least two, and perhaps a dozen, of her Cabinet members were preparing to resign, so Ms. Arroyo clearly took the offensive to forestall a sense that efforts to force her out were turning into an avalanche.

``First of all, I am not resigning my office,'' Ms. Arroyo said. ``At the same time, I will restructure and strengthen the Cabinet. I am asking the entire Cabinet to tender their resignations. This is neither political ploy or gimmick. This will be a legacy.''

While she again denied that she did anything wrong in talking to an election official about protecting a million-vote lead during the ballot count, she said it was nearly impossible to be a Philippine politician and avoid corruption. ``Our political system has degenerated to such an extent that it is very difficult to live within the system with hands totally untainted,'' she said.

She said her new Cabinet would have a free hand in governance while she focuses on fundamental changes to the constitution and the political system.

The late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted by a ``people power'' revolt in 1986, a model used by pro-democracy movements around the world.

Ms. Arroyo took office in ``people power 2,'' which forced President Joseph Estrada out in 2001 but led to criticism that ousting a leader was becoming too easy.

Ms. Arroyo warned that a third incarnation of ``people power'' would ``condemn the Philippines as a country whose political system is hopelessly unstable.'' — AP

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