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Opponents Seek to Impeach Arroyo in Philippines
MANILA, Aug 17 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Attacking Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her peace initiatives in Mindanao, opposition politicians on Friday said they are trying to find ways and means to impeach her.
With threats coming from the Council on Philippine Affairs (Copa), some politicians in Manila are predicting that Arroyo may be facing some difficult moments ahead.
The Copa is a political-military support group that helped propel Arroyo to the presidency and was instrumental in the ouster of former president Joseph Estrada.
Upset over its failure to secure prime positions in Arroyo's current government, Copa, military sources said, is plotting to destabilize the her administration.
Copa members were "disgusted" with Arroyo's favoring personalities identified with former president Fidel Ramos, or those allied with Estrada.
In the meantime, Arroyo, thanking God for her ascension to power, added that this was part of her destiny. She thanked God for orchestrating "the confluence of events" that made her president.
She also thanked God for not taking away her husband as she fulfilled her destiny. Arroyo compared herself to former Phililppine president Corazon Aquino, who "had to lose her husband to martyrdom before she became eligible for the presidency."
Opposition elements had heavily banked on involving Arroyo's husband, Mike Arroyo, in a scandal.
News that the office of the Ombudsman found no evidence to link Mike Arroyo to a recent telecom franchise scandal saddened the opposition.
Investigators from the Office of the Ombudsman said it was futile to continue with their probe of Arroyo since no one was willing to come out against the President's spouse. The Ombudsman's office said the investigation was not zeroing in on personalities but was more concerned with the "incident" - the alleged payment of a bribe to have a presidential veto overturned.
Arroyo has flatly denied allegations he and three others took up to 50 million pesos (US$1 = 51.50 Pesos) to convince the President to recall her veto of a bill that would have granted exclusive rights to charge fees to a particular telecommunications firm.
The controversy erupted when the President's correspondence secretary, Veronica Rodrigo, had supposedly implicated Arroyo and the others in the bribery attempt.
Arroyo is facing another attempt at impeachment by opposition Senator Blas Ople, who, earlier broke his silence on what he called the continued "rape of the Constitution" by the government in dealing with the peace problem in Mindanao.
He stated that Arroyo could face impeachment unless Malacañang (the Presidential Palace) orders a stop to alleged abuses by the military in the south of the country.
The senator condemned reports on alleged violations being committed against civilians, particularly in Basilan and Sulu provinces, saying the military had failed to combat the Abu Sayyaf group.
Ople cautioned Arroyo, saying she might suffer the same fate as Estrada in facing impeachment charges unless she lifts her declaration of a state of lawlessness in Mindanao.
"The President herself cannot be exculpated from responsibility for all the chaos prevailing [in Mindanao]. She was directly responsible for declaring a state of lawlessness in the area," he said.
"It is clear that the President committed a culpable violation of the Constitution by completely and disdainfully ignoring Congress in this regard," he added.
Arroyo has contributed largely to the peace process in Mindanao and is considered an architect of peace, having successfully signed a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) two weeks ago in Malaysia.
With additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood
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