The Philippine government yesterday warned President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's rivals that attempts to use a "people power" revolt to try to grab power would be met with "the full force of the law."
Final official results from Monday's election will take weeks, and a "quick count" by an officially sanctioned election watchdog group won't be ready for several days.
Arroyo was leading action film star Fernando Poe Jr. in the quick count by a little more than 2 percentage points as of midday yesterday. An independent exit poll by a credible agency has predicted she will win by 9 percentage points.
The president has invited her opponents to join in a government of national unity and reconciliation, but Poe has said he believes he won the election and his party threatened massive street protests to force Arroyo from power if necessary.
Poe's camp has alleged widespread election irregularities, and he has urged his backers to "remain firm in our belief in the truth that victory is ours."
In a statement yesterday, presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said, "Any attempt to destabilize the government will be a blatant travesty of the Filipino people's will as expressed during the May 10 elections. We discourage those disgruntled politicians and their allies from any sinister plans, which will be met with the full force of law."
The Philippine military has also warned against any violence or massive protests, saying troops would use "necessary force" to maintain order if losing parties try to stir up trouble.
In a live interview with ABS-CBN TV from the presidential palace on Friday, Arroyo called the elections "an opportunity for change," and said she needed a six-year mandate to complete economic and political reforms she began when she succeeded President Joseph Estrada after he was ousted in a 2001 "people power" revolt.
Still bitter at Arroyo, Estrada supports his friend, Poe, and warned from military detention of another "people power" uprising if the government cheats in the elections.
Arroyo refused to talk about the allegations from the opposition and civic groups of vote tampering and irregularities, or any election-related issues. But she did warn the opposition not to cross the line, saying, "They can protest verbally" and within the law.
She also extended a hand to her rivals, saying she wanted to form a "government of national unity and reconciliation, and it would be good if my opponents would join me."
Arroyo said she would work on "institutional reforms" and changing the country's culture of corruption while increasing the speed of privatization of public utilities and keeping the budget deficit down.
Earlier, Arroyo called her first post-election Cabinet meeting. Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, in her absence, asked members to submit resignations to give Arroyo a free hand to reorganize the government.
If Arroyo beats Poe and three other candidates, she will have a public mandate to run the country for the first time.
Nauru has started selling passports to fund climate action, but is so far struggling to attract new citizens to the low-lying, largely barren island in the Pacific Ocean. Nauru, one of the world’s smallest nations, has a novel plan to fund its fight against climate change by selling so-called “Golden Passports.” Selling for US$105,000 each, Nauru plans to drum up more than US$5 million in the first year of the “climate resilience citizenship” program. Almost six months after the scheme opened in February, Nauru has so far approved just six applications — covering two families and four individuals. Despite the slow start —
MOGAMI-CLASS FRIGATES: The deal is a ‘big step toward elevating national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,’ a Japanese official said Australia is to upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said yesterday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defense export deal since World War II, Australia is to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade. “This is clearly the biggest defense-industry agreement that has ever
DEADLY TASTE TEST: Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband three times, police said in one of the major claims not heard during her initial trial Australia’s recently convicted mushroom murderer also tried to poison her husband with bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry, according to testimony aired yesterday after a suppression order lapsed. Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt in 2023, lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behavior in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale yesterday rejected an application to keep these allegations secret. Patterson tried to kill her
MILITARY’S MAN: Myint Swe was diagnosed with neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy disease, and had authorized another to perform his duties Myint Swe, who became Myanmar’s acting president under controversial circumstances after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than four years ago, died yesterday, the military said. He was 74. He died at a military hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, in the morning, Myanmar’s military information office said in a statement. Myint Swe’s death came more than a year after he stopped carrying out his presidential duties after he was publicly reported to be ailing. His funeral is to be held at the state level, but the date had not been disclosed, a separate statement from the
RSS