Local officials vow support for Arroyo

This situation transcends political color and resonates beyond Metro Manila.

Setting aside their political affiliations, local government executives yesterday said they would use their network in the 1.5 million-member Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations to stop destabilization efforts and unmask any and all "evil designs" against the Arroyo administration.

Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson (Lakas), Negros Oriental Gov. George Arnaiz (Nationalist People’s Coalition), Antique Gov. Sally Perez (Liberal Party), Cotabato Gov. Manny Piñol (Lihok-Mindanao), Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone (Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino) and Zamboanga del Norte Gov. Rolando Yebes (PDSP) are among the provincial leaders who have announced a united stand behind President Arroyo.

Meanwhile, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said those seeking the President’s ouster will have a hard time doing so as she is a tough nut to crack.

"The President is not one who is weak," Duterte said. "She is not stepping down. She is tough and very intelligent. She would fight it out with anyone who wants to topple her administration."

He made the assessment amid the mounting calls for the President to resign over allegations of involvement by some family members in a jueteng scandal and Mrs. Arroyo’s alleged wiretapped conversation with former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in last year’s national elections.

Susan Roces, the widow of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., earlier angrily rejected the President’s apology and demanded that the President resign.

"(The President) is determined to see to it that she would really finish her term, as mandated, by 2010," he said. "There is no way that those seeking to oust her through illegal means can unseat her. If you know her well, you would know that she is not the type who would just kowtow to mob rule," Duterte said.

He also said the President earlier accepted his offer to become one of her legal advisers in the prevailing crisis.

On the basis of the evidence possessed by the opposition against the President, the CD that contained the alleged wiretapped conversation between Mrs. Arroyo and the election official is not enough basis to oust her: "Let those who brought the tape or CDs out in the open prove the evidence that they know they illegally acquired."

Duterte said he listened to the recordings three times and found nothing to show that Mrs. Arroyo ordered the election officer on the other end of the phone line to cheat in last year’s general elections.

It is widely believed that the male voice on the recording is that of former commissioner Garcillano.

The mayor also said the President never asked him to manipulate votes during the elections last year: "We’d been talking on the phone during the campaign but she never told me to cheat."

In a strongly worded resolution passed unanimously by the Ilocos Sur provincial board, Ilocanos reaffirmed their support for Mrs. Arroyo — a similar stance taken by many provinces, cities and municipalities to underscore the overwhelming support the President enjoys from LGUs.

Singson categorically stated that Mrs. Arroyo did not cheat in the May 2004 presidential elections. He also said that the political noise in Metro Manila does not represent the sentiments of the rest of the country, especially those Filipinos living in the countryside.

Political coalition affairs Undersecretary Raymundo Roquero said a torrent of resolutions, letters of support and encouragement from various LGUs had flooded into Malacañang since the controversy erupted. Roquero also said the Palace has received numerous text messages from the private sector urging the President not to resign.

"Local officials are saying that the formation of the Truth Commission is beside the point and has no legal basis," he said, quoting from the messages of local officials. "They also said that calls for (the President’s) resignation are non-negotiable because they firmly believe that the President won fair and square."

Also supportive of the President are Governors Ben Loong of Sulu, Wahab Akbar of Basilan, Sadikul Sahali of Tawi-Tawi, Aleem Bashier Manalao of Lanao del Sur, Melchor Borromeo of Benguet, Erico Aumentado of Bohol, Niel Tupaz of Iloilo, Rosette Lerias of Southern Leyte, Joseph Maranon of Negros Occidental and Edward Plaza of Agusan del Sur. — Edith Regalado