Another Cabinet member said yesterday he resigned irrevocably as Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo grappled with a political crisis fueled by allegations she rigged last year's closely contested elections.
Silvestre Afable became the 11th Cabinet member to quit during the six-week crisis, leaving his job as Arroyo's communications director without publicly explaining his decision.
But Afable said he would stay on as chief government negotiator in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a large Muslim group fighting for an independent Islamic homeland in the southern Philippines.
"I will continue to be chief negotiator but no longer in the Cabinet as communications director," Afable said without elaborating yesterday.
Ten Cabinet members, including key economic advisers, resigned on July 8 and asked Arroyo to step down, saying she has been crippled by the elections scandal and has lost her ability to govern.
Arroyo has defiantly refused calls for her to step down, saying she has committed no crime and did not manipulate the results of the May 2004 presidential elections. Among those who have sought her resignation were former president Corazon Aquino, an ex-ally and widely regarded as a moral icon. Several business groups and Roman Catholic universities have asked Arroyo to quit.
About 40,000 left-wing activists and opposition politicians demanded her ouster on Wednesday in the largest protest against her so far. Arroyo's political allies organized a rally on Saturday that drew a crowd that was more than double that mustered by the opposition to project continuing public support to the president.
Saturday's rally organizers included religious groups and local government leaders capable of motivating tens of thousands of people to attend, including government workers who can be required to attend rallies.
The large turnout could give Arroyo the boost she needs to survive the political crisis that erupted seven weeks ago when it was revealed she talked to an election official before the final results were announced in last year's presidential ballot.
Arroyo has acknowledged that she talked with an elections official during the vote count and publicly apologized for the "lapse in judgment." But she argued she only wanted to protect her votes and did not attempt to manipulate the election results as alleged by the political opposition. Arroyo said she was ready to face any impeachment complaint in Congress.
Huge "people power" demonstrations helped oust the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Arroyo's predecessor, President Joseph Estrada, in 2001. Arroyo has shrugged off almost daily protests so far.
Yet the president's poll numbers are dismal. A survey by respected pollster Social Weather Stations reported Friday that 62 percent of those surveyed said Arroyo should resign, and 85 percent said she should be impeached if she doesn't quit.
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