July 10, 2005 - 8:05 AM

Philippine bishops give battling Arroyo vital boost

By Bill Tarrant

MANILA (Reuters) - Influential Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines on Sunday rejected calls for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to step down, handing the embattled president a major reprieve after weeks of turmoil.

"We declare our collective decision that we won't demand her resignation," said Fernando Capalla, outgoing president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), reading from a statement.

The politically powerful Catholic Church, which played a decisive role in the ouster of presidents in 1986 and 2001, said the clergy's role was to provide moral guidance in confusing times and not be "politicians with a blueprint".

"We don't believe in intruding into politics," said the statement by the 91 senior priests.

Defying mounting calls on her to quit over allegations of election fraud, Arroyo said on Friday she had done no wrong and challenged her opponents to pursue an impeachment case.

But the bishops said Arroyo's apology, for "a lapse in judgment" in speaking to an election official while votes were being counted last year, was insufficient.

They demanded the creation of an independent commission to look into the allegations of election fraud and corruption in her family.

The bishops also had harsh words for Philippine politicians in general and appealed for them to show stronger moral values.

DESERTION OF ALLIES

Joey Salceda, a congressmen who advises Arroyo on economic policy, said the bishops gave a "glimmer of hope to a rather bleak position of the administration".

To meet their demands, her government was committed to "profound reforms, a truth commission and the impeachment process", he said.

Arroyo's presidency hung in the balance awaiting judgment from the bishops, after the mass resignation of her economic team and desertions of political and business allies last week.

One group representing various Catholic orders, the Association of Major Religious Superiors, came out against Arroyo on Saturday, saying in a statement that she should quit.

Arroyo, criticised for being aloof, attended mass on Sunday and then strolled near Manila Bay with family members, shaking hands, hugging babies and exchanging greetings with passersby.

"Gloria don't step down," shouted one jogger.

She has urged her opponents to impeach her in Congress in line with the constitution. The opposition is reluctant because of the president's majorities in both houses.

The U.S.-trained economist and daughter of a former president has refused to quit, raising the prospect of prolonged uncertainty in a country with a recent history of coup attempts by the military and popular uprisings.

The military leadership warned "all sectors of society" on Saturday not to call on the armed forces to take sides.

"The very idea that the military will be drawn once again into the public square, whether out of misplaced ambition or a sense of patriotic duty, should give everybody pause," the Philippine Daily Inquirer said in an editorial.

"It is therefore incumbent on the major players in the political crisis to agree on the constitutional mechanism."

IMPEACHMENT MOTION

Congress is due to take up an impeachment motion against Arroyo when it returns from recess on July 25.

Fidel Ramos, a former general and president who is an influential powerbroker and still in Arroyo's corner, has offered a plan that would give her "a graceful exit".

The two houses of Congress would become a constitutional convention under his plan. Arroyo would stay on as caretaker to oversee the change to a parliamentary system, followed by fresh elections next year.

But there are strong vested interests opposed to constitutional change.

The risk is that debate on the issue would drag on for months, creating more uncertainty for financial markets and paralysing the government's attempts to cut the country's hefty budget deficit and tackle widespread poverty.

Ramos flew to Bangkok on Sunday, saying even before the bishops' statement that he would take bets on the government being the same when he returns on Friday.