Palace calls for sobriety as peso sinks

Malacañang appealed for calm and sobriety yesterday as the peso again took a beating in the wake of calls for President Arroyo to step down.

The peso hit a six-month low Wednesday when a lawmaker called for the impeachment of Mrs. Arroyo following her televised apology to the nation for improperly calling an election official to protect her lead in the May 2004 election.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said they were expecting the President’s opponents to make political capital of her admission but expressed confidence that most Filipinos would be reasonable enough to forgive her and give her another chance.

Supporters of late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. gathered at a huge rally yesterday after his widow, actress Susan Roces, came out in an emotion-filled press conference on Wednesday and accused Mrs. Arroyo of cheating her way to victory as proven by her call to an election official.

The peso has breached the psychological barrier of 56 against the dollar for the first time since January amid concerns that the President would be asked to resign over the crisis.

The local currency sank to 56.25 to $1, close to its record low of 56.45. It recovered some ground yesterday afternoon to average at 56.186, with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas seen selling dollars in the spot market to limit the peso’s slide, dealers said.

"We continue to see further tests towards the P56.30-P56.75 levels in the coming days as the dark clouds on the horizon have turned into a political storm," a dealer at a local commercial bank said.

Corazon Guidote, the President’s consultant for investor relations, said in a statement that the peso had become a "victim" of what she described as "all the political noise."

"This will not help our economy and will only serve to increase the cost of imports, particularly crude oil, prices of which have reached unprecedented levels in the world market," she said, adding that a weak peso would fuel inflation.

Bunye appealed to Poe’s supporters to think about the country’s welfare and not to allow themselves to be swayed by their emotions.

"We must always follow the rule of law. Contrary to the statement of Susan Roces that (the President was arrogant), she actually has been humble enough to admit her lapse in judgment. We received a lot of expression of support after that and we believe that the people are ready to accept the apology and forgive," he said.

Bunye said the President would go on with her regular schedule and concentrate on what needs to be done.

"As I said, she will just continue with the reforms she instituted," he said.

The Palace has rejected calls for Mrs. Arroyo to resign, saying no cheating occurred during the last election.

Bunye said the demand that Mrs. Arroyo resign was "unacceptable" since she had already apologized for calling an official of the Commission on Elections, purportedly to check on the ongoing canvassing.

He urged Roces to refrain from being carried away by her emotions and rallying the public against the President.

Bunye said he could understand the anger and frustration displayed by Roces during the press conference, noting that she might still be grieving over the death of her husband, but that he could not agree with some of her statements.

Roces accused Mrs. Arroyo of robbing the presidency not only once but twice, apparently referring to her assumption of office after her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, was ousted by a military-backed uprising in 2001 and to her victory in the May 2004 elections.

"The gist of her accusation is that we cheated and we cannot accept that because the President’s victory had been predicted long before the elections," Bunye said.

"It’s the opposition that lost. They lost from day one because they failed to unite. They lost because the President had a clear platform of government that majority of the people supported. There was no cheating," he added.

International observers, various exit polls and foreign governments have recognized Mrs. Arroyo’s victory in last year’s presidential poll, Bunye said. — With AFP