Philippine security forces were on alert for anti-government demonstrations expected on Independence Day yesterday, but President Gloria Arroyo said she was not cowed by threats against her rule.
Marines were guarding highways around the capital, while riot police were on standby at vital installations, officials said.
Left-wing groups and those allied with the political opposition threatened mass protests on Independence Day to call for Arroyo's ouster.
PHOTO: EPA
However anti-government rallies on Saturday failed to draw the mass support organizers had hoped for. About 2,000 people from various opposition groups converged on the Manila post office in what was a relatively peaceful demonstration.
They planned to regroup late yesterday afternoon for mass outside a Manila Catholic seminary where an ex-government intelligence officer had sought refuge.
The officer, Samuel Ong, on Friday came out in public as the source of controversial taped conversations between Arroyo and an elections commisioner conspiring to cheat in last year's polls. He said his life was in danger.
Opposition senators have called on Arroyo to resign amid the allegations she rigged last year's presidential polls to beat Fernando Poe, the country's most popular movie star and a friend of deposed president Joseph Estrada.
Poe died of natural causes in December, while Estrada, whom Arroyo replaced in 2001 after a military-backed popular revolt ousted him, remains in detention over corruption charges.
The president has resisted the calls for her resignation, and called for unity.
"I am calling on everyone to do away with dirty politics and focus our energies to improve the economy," Arroyo said in a speech to mark the country's independence from Spanish rule 107 years ago.
"My countrymen, the flag is the symbol of power and determination. Mark it in stone, I will show this power and determination to uphold democracy and guide the country in the right direction."
Arroyo's family members have also been accused of accepting bribes from operators of an illegal numbers game called jueteng, the same allegations that were the basis for Estrada's impeachment and ouster.
"The president should explain to the public once and for all who the persons are in the tape," said Joe Dizon, a prominent priest who gave Ong the sanctuary.
"The church's position is that it will give sanctuary to anyone who is in danger," he said, adding that he expected police to allow protesters to peacefully converge at the seminary.
At a reception for diplomats on Saturday Arroyo vowed to maintain stability and asked for their support.
She noted that she had worked hard to bring the country "back on the world map" and took her role "very seriously."
"I have felt the political heat, but I'm still in the kitchen. I'm still in the kitchen because that's where I belong, to continue to make the tough choices to turn this economy around and no one will deter me from that mission," she said.
She accused her critics of creating the image that the country was "nothing more than a private sandbox for political intrigue."
This view, she said, was "dangerous and irresponsible" as she challenged the opposition to present a viable alternative to her leadership.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS