MANILA, 29 July 2005 - President Gloria Mapacagal Arroyo complained yesterday that she was being subjected to “trial by publicity without regard for due process” but she and her lawyer she would survive and stay in power.

“This abuse has got to stop,” Arroyo said in a live interview on GMA television.

She also repeated earlier statements that she has no plans to stand down.

“There is no such plan,” she said when asked about a supposed face-saving deal in which she would relinquish the presidency next year.

“I was elected to a term that ends in 2010. This is where things stand,” she added.

But she refused to comment on the main allegation in an impeachment complaint that could lead to her removal from office.

The station had asked her point-blank if, during the vote count for the May 2004 election, she had called Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

“My lawyer advised me not to talk about it,” Arroyo replied.

Last month Arroyo apologized on national television for having improperly called an election official before the 2004 election returns were tallied. She said she did not try to cheat and would not resign.

The opposition has accused Garcillano of rigging the ballot to ensure her victory.

The impeachment complaint, filed by several dozen opposition legislators in the House of Representatives on Monday, cites supposed telephone conversations between Garcillano and Arroyo as grounds to remove her from office for betraying public trust, among others.

Arroyo is accused of violating the constitution, betraying public trust, corruption and bribery for allegedly using election officials to rig the May 2004 vote and the military and police to ensure her victory. Other charges are obstruction of justice, unexplained wealth, human rights violations, tax evasion, misuse of public funds, approving flawed contracts and receiving illegal gambling payoffs to fund her campaign.

They urged her to resign to avoid a painful Senate trial, claiming they have plenty of witnesses and piles of documentary evidence to bring her down.

New Survey

Arroyo’s public approval ratings have plunged and she has faced mounting calls for her resignation since the opposition in June released audio tapes of what it said were phone calls between her and Garcillano.

An independent poll released yesterday showed nearly three-quarters of Filipinos saying they want Arroyo out of office.

The 73 percent figure in the Pulse Asia survey was up from 61 percent in June.

Only 26 percent wanted Arroyo to stay in office, compared to 38 percent in June.

About 34 percent of respondents said it would be best for Arroyo to resign or be impeached and for snap elections to be held afterwards. Another 17 percent wanted her replaced by her constitutional successor, Vice President Noli de Castro, while 15 percent want her replaced by a junta.

Seven percent wanted her removed by any means, including unconstitutional actions.

Asked to name someone who was “not acceptable” to lead the nation, 47 percent of respondents named Arroyo. In contrast, only 26 percent named deposed president Joseph Estrada who is in detention while facing graft charges.

When asked to name the “best person to lead the country now,” 26 percent named Vice-President de Castro, 21 percent named opposition Senator Panfilo Lacson and 11 percent named Estrada. Only seven percent named Arroyo.

The nationwide survey of 1,200 adults was conducted from July 2-14. It has a six percent margin of error.

Walls of Defenses

Also yesterday, a lawyer for Arroyo boasted that the president has “walls of defenses” and evidence to crush impeachment charges.

“If they have tons of evidence, we have great walls of defenses against those charges,” Arroyo lawyer Pedro Ferrer told The Associated Press. “We believe those charges are weak as manifested by the fact that they’re threatening to go to the streets if they fail. That’s a premature threat.”

Opposition lawmakers say they’re confident in their case. They have warned that an attempt by pro-Arroyo legislators, who have a strong majority in the House of Representatives, to spike the complaint could set off huge protests. “People power” revolts have ousted two presidents in the past two decades.

Ferrer said Arroyo’s legal team was busy preparing her defense, frequently conferring with the president, and was confident she would be cleared.

“I think the president deserves to be acquitted because the evidence of the proponents of the impeachment complaint is weak and the people will accept that,” he said.

Opposition lawmakers were trying to elicit testimony from 10 former Cabinet members who quit recently.

Critical to the case are wiretaps allegedly of Arroyo speaking to an election commissioner about ensuring at least a million-vote victory. Wiretaps of about 15 phone calls, purportedly between Arroyo and the election official, were allegedly made by military intelligence agents in a covert operation.

Ferrer said the defense would block using the wiretaps as evidence because they were illegally obtained.

The impeachment complaint will be tackled by the House committee on justice, which will evaluate evidence.

If the complaint wins the support of at least one-third of the 236-member House, Arroyo would face trial by the 23-member Senate, where political realignments could strengthen the ranks of minority opposition members. (Input from agencies)