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Roces to Arroyo: 'You stole the presidency'
June 29, 2005
By Joel Francis Guinto
INQ7.net

FERNANDO Poe Jr.'s widow has accused President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of allegedly stealing the presidency, as she joined calls for Arroyo's resignation and rejected a public apology from the President who has admitted that it was her voice on the wiretapped tapes on alleged election fraud.

At the same time, Susan Roces said she would join mass actions that would press for the ouster of Arroyo whom she accused of allegedly stealing the presidency.
Roces however debunked calls for her to lead the opposition saying she did not want to engage in politicking.

She also disclosed that there were plans to pressure Arroyo but refused to elaborate.
















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"The gravest thing you have done is that you stole the presidency, not once but twice," said Roces, referring to the second popular revolt in 2001 that catapulted Arroyo to power and the alleged cheating in the 2004 polls that was said to have prevented Poe from becoming president.

“The most honorable thing for her to do is to resign,” said Roces. “She has done enough damage to this country.”

Speaking in a forceful and angry tone, Roces called Arroyo “arrogant” and “insensitive" ("manhid").

Roces' tirades were in sharp contrast to her earlier calls for sobriety and calm when the wiretapping scandal first broke.

“Mrs. Arroyo, while I watched you apologize, I saw it in your eyes. It did not come from your heart,” said Roces.

“I cannot accept your 'sorry'... You destroyed the trust of your people,” she said.
“You are using the law to serve your interest. Ang sinungaling ay kapatid ng magnanakaw [The liar is the thief's brother],” she said.

When asked if she would join the barrage of anti-government protests on the streets, Roces said: “Kung may magyayaya, depende kung kailan, handa ako [If there is an invitation, it depends when. I'm ready].”

“There are plans, different plans, that I can't reveal right now,” Roces said when asked how Arroyo would be forced to step down.

Roces however rejected proposals for a snap election. “We saw how dirty the last election was.”
She was also lukewarm to another "people power" uprising, saying the last three had failed to solve the country's woes. “It's her countrymen that will decide her fate.”

Roces also rejected the idea of Vice President Noli De Castro taking over should Arroyo step down.

“Sa mga nakikita ko, kahit mali kinakampihan, ano masasagot mo? [From what I see, he continues to defend the President even if she was wrong. What can you say],” said Roces in response to a newsman's question.

Roces refused to comment on First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo's decision to go abroad. “I don't know the history of their romance.”

Roces said the discovery of the alleged wiretapped tapes was an “answered prayer.”

“Heaven has spoken. We have the right to know the truth,” she said.

“The right to vote is sacred. It was handed down to us by our forefathers who paid for it with their own blood,” Roces said.

Arroyo apologized to the nation on Monday over what she said was a "lapse in judgement" in speaking to an elections official during the canvassing for the May 2004 election. She said however that she did not attempt to influence the outcome of the election during the conversation. Reports have identified the man she spoke with as Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano who went into hiding after denying that it was his voice on the tape.

Various groups have called on the President to resign despite her admission.
In the same televised speech on Monday, Arroyo said she would not resign, as she vowed to continue implementing her reforms.

Then vice president Arroyo assumed the presidency in January 2001 after a popular revolt ousted predecessor Joseph Estrada over allegations of massive corruption. She sought a fresh six-year mandate in 2004 but was challenged by Poe, a popular actor whose "underdog" image on films has endeared him to the masses. Moreover, Poe was the best friend of Estrada, himself a former actor before entering politics.

Allegations of cheating in the election have hounded Arroyo since assuming the presidency but the accusations were revived after disclosure of the wiretapped tapes by Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye.

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