Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

In a nationally televised speech June 27, she said she would not resign and appealed for unity as she addressed the 3-week-old political crisis over the wiretapped phone conversation. The disclosure of the conversation has prompted calls for Arroyo to resign with five years left in her term.

Eddie Villanueva, who finished fourth in the ballot, called for a special election.

The scandal erupted as Arroyo grappled with daunting problems, including rising oil prices, a huge budget deficit, security issues and accusations her son and brother-in-law, both lawmakers, pocketed huge illegal gambling payoffs.

The almost daily demonstrations against Arroyo haven't matched the huge "people power" protests that ousted late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Arroyo's predecessor, Joseph Estrada, in 2001.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 2, 2005
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