President Gloria Arroyo on Wednesday sought to calm fears that she was secretly plotting to hold on to power, promising a smooth transition when her term ends in June.

In a speech to the military, President Arroyo said that she would respect the nation’s democratic process, which requires her to make way for a new president to be elected in national polls on May 10. She is expected to swear in her successor on June 30, also the end of her term.

“Our entire administration [is] devoted to ensure a smooth transition to a new government,” the President added.

“The people come first. Our accomplishments and progress to date must be passed on to new leaders to continue the forward march of progress,” she said.

Mrs. Arroyo’s comments follow months of accusations from opposition politicians and other critics that she is seeking a way to stay in power after her term ends, even though she is required by the 1987 Constitution to step down.

According to the critics, the President could secretly be plotting to derail the national polls, then maneuver to remain president amid the ensuing chaos. Mrs. Arroyo has ruled since 2001, when as vice president she took over then President Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s post after helping oust him in a popular uprising over massive corruption.

Unprecedented step
She has also taken the unprecedented step of running for a House of Representatives seat in the May elections.

Her critics have alleged that she may be aiming to become Speaker of the House, giving her a platform to orchestrate a change of the Constitution that would allow her to become the nation’s first prime minister.

“We do not trust the President,” Florencio “Butch” Abad, the campaign manager of the opposition Liberal Party, told Agence France-Presse.

“She has shown on many occasions that she is hell-bent on remaining in power. This administration has not given us reason to believe otherwise,” said former congressman Abad.

He cited widespread allegations that Mrs. Arroyo cheated to win the 2004 presidential elections, partly through the influence of generals who were assigned to oversee crucial voting areas.

The President’s speech came after one of her closest aides, Gen. Delfin Bangit, assumed the post of military chief of staff, further fanning suspicions that Mrs. Arroyo was trying to hold on to power.

In the same ceremony to induct him as military chief also on Wednesday, Bangit denied charges that he was appointed by Mrs. Arroyo to help her stay in power.

“I am not the kind of commander who will lead our soldiers astray. I will not allow anybody to use me for partisan politics,” he said. Bangit has been linked by the administration critics, particularly those from the Estrada camp, to allegedly massive fraud in the 2004 race to Malacañang.

Fears about a president seeking to subvert the Constitution to remain in power hold particular resonance in the Philippines because such tactics were used by strongman President Ferdinand Marcos during his rule from 1965 to 1986. Marcos was overthrown in 1986 in a military-backed rebellion supported by so-called civil society and the Roman Catholic Church, among other sectors.
AFP