Arroyo won’t step down - Palace

Malacañang rejected the call of some senators for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign and turnover the government to Vice President Noli de Castro following alleged instability and threats of a civil war. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Mrs Arroyo has been elected until 2010 and she would step down after her term ends. “We maintain that the Armed Forces are loyal to their commander in chief and they will adhere to the chain of command and the President has a mandate to serve up to 2010," he said. He believes that the military would not resort to any unconstitutional means to force the President out of office. Senators Francis Pangilinan and Aquilino Pimentel Jr. called for Arroyos’s resignation to avert civil war. Pimentel said Mrs Arroyo’s “misgovernance" is pushing the country to political turmoil and that her resignation could be the only solution. “Official corruption is hemorrhaging in the country. [The President] is unable to [stop] it. Her misgovernance pushes the Philippines on the brink of a national upheaval," Pimentel said in a text message to reporters. He said anti-Arroyo forces would agree to Vice President Noli de Castro as a caretaker president until 2010. “(President Arroyo) should resign and turn over the government to Vice President de Castro as caretaker until 2010," Pimentel said. Pangilinan said Mrs Arroyo’s resignation is the only constitutional solution to avert civil war. Pangilinan’s statement was also a reaction to the claim of former President Fidel Ramos that Mrs Arroyo is irreplaceable. Sen. Panfilo Lacson also warned that time is running out for President Arroyo. “If Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr, an acknowledged supporter and ally of this administration, can speak of numbness to corruption by Mrs Arroyo, how could the rest of our people think of their President?" Lacson asked. “Malacañang must be concerned when our people, amid the spectacle of brazen stealing, shameless lying and unprecedented hubris by any leader of this country, become numb enough to force another ouster," he said. “The country cannot afford any more unconstitutional changing of the guard, lest we live up to become Asia's most prominent "banana republic." I cannot help but give an advice, unsolicited as it is, to Mrs. Arroyo: Reform now. Your time may be running out," he added. - GMANews.TV