Philippines President Gloria Maca-pagal Arroyo yesterday rejected any form of coalition government with the opposition amid a lingering political crisis triggered by vote-rigging allegations against her.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said that while Arroyo has always been open to appoint qualified members of the opposition to her Cabinet, it "has nothing to do with the formation of a so-called coalition government."
"What we need now is not a political coalition but an earnest, principled working relationship with the opposition that will truly serve the national interest in this time of looming crisis," he said.
Mike Velarde, an influential leader of the Catholic lay organization El Shhadai, earlier said Arroyo was open to the idea of power sharing and the holding of elections in 2007 to end the current political crisis.
"She is open to discussing this," Velarde said in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper. "We've been discussing this for some time now."
Meanwhile, Arroyo tighten her grip on the presidency yesterday, using her overwhelming majority in Congress to frustrate opposition attempts to impeach her over allegations of wrongdoing.
Lawmakers in a committee dominated by Arroyo loyalists exchanged legal arguments for three hours on which of three separate impeachment complaints should be taken up.
The opposition is arguing that all three complaints should be combined, but majority lawmakers are pushing for only the initial, weaker case to be considered.
A vote on the issue expected this week is unlikely to draw a line under the months-old political crisis, with the opposition still hoping it can muster the support in a full session of Congress needed to impeach her.
"We realize that at the end of the day the majority can railroad this and use brute force, use the tyranny of numbers," said Congressman Roilo Golez, a former national security adviser under Arroyo who has turned against her.
"They might win this battle but lose the war," he said.
Political analysts say Arroyo still looks fragile given her dire popularity ratings and with Filipinos bracing for an economic chill from spiralling world oil prices that could be worsened by her attempts to raise taxes.
The opposition still has the option of gathering the one-third of lower house votes it needs to impeach Arroyo over allegations she tried to fix last year's elections, allowing it to trigger a trial in the Senate. Opposition leaders, who have accused Arroyo of using the presidency's financial clout to shore up Congressional support, say they are gaining ground but still stand short of the required 79 votes.
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