The Philippine opposition yesterday kept up pressure on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign over allegations she cheated in last year's vote, as the military again warned troops to stay neutral in the deepening crisis.
Opposition groups held small demonstrations in the capital to call for Arroyo to quit, after thousands gathered for similar rallies late on Friday, while various opposition factions met to plot their next move.
One opposition leader admitted, however, that their efforts were weakened by having no clear replacement for Arroyo if she were forced to step down.
"The difficulty ... in rallying enough support is that we are now in a crisis of leadership -- a crisis of who will replace President Arroyo," Senator Jamby Madrigal said in an interview with ABS-CBN television.
Arroyo, who has denied trying to fix the May 2004 vote and has refused to resign, was meanwhile holed up at the presidential palace where she consulted with supportive legislators and Cabinet allies.
"She is in command of the situation and everything will stabilize," Arroyo's Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said late yesterday.
"We have our leaders close to the ground who are tracking how things are moving as far as the political opposition is concerned," he added.
Military Chief Brigadier General Efren Abu issued a new warning to troops to stay neutral amid calls by retired officers for soldiers to help oust the president.
"This serious political problem must be solved through the legal process and peaceful means. The armed forces must not in any way, get involved in anything that goes against the Constitution," Abu said.
"I call on all sectors of society to stop their appeals to the military to enter the field of politics," he said.
The head of police in Manila said he had lowered a red alert raised on Friday when tensions peaked as members of Arroyo's Cabinet, senior officials and prominent businesses added to opposition calls for her to quit.
"The hype yesterday has subsided greatly and the situation is very much approaching the point of normalcy," Manila Police Chief Director Vidal Querol said.
Arroyo's opponents suffered a further blow as the country's influential Catholic bishops failed to so far agree on a statement calling for the president's resignation, a senior bishop said as the church leaders continued to hold a crisis meeting late into the evening.
The bishops were originally expected to urge her to step down in a move that many said could further swing public opinion in this largely Catholic nation.
also see stories:
Arroyo losing grip on power: analysts
Noli de Castro eyed as a possible successor to Arroyo
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS