Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said in her final state of the nation address Monday that she doesn't plan to extend her time in office beyond her current term limit in 2010, flagging that the race to succeed her is under way.
Ms. Arroyo, who is scheduled to meet President Barack Obama in Washington on Thursday to discuss security and climate-change issues, has struggled to shake off speculation that she aims to stay in power after her term expires in June.
Her allies in the country's House of Representatives recently advanced a proposal to set up a special assembly aimed at changing the constitution -- a move that Ms. Arroyo's critics said could enable her to stay at the helm of one of Southeast Asia's most volatile countries, which is home to deep-rooted Islamist and communist insurgencies.
"I have never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term," she told Congress on Monday.
Several thousand protesters took to the streets of Manila to mark the annual state of the nation address. Many burned effigies -- a common practice in the Philippines -- of Ms. Arroyo, and warned that civil unrest could follow if the 62-year-old president doesn't step down in June 2010 after nine years in office.
Ms. Arroyo's political opponents, several of whom hope to succeed her as president, seized on the speech -- which is modeled on the annual U.S. State of the Union address -- to criticize her administration.
Former President Joseph Estrada was among the most vocal. Forced out of office by a popular revolt for corruption -- a crime for which he was convicted and later pardoned -- the former film star is attempting a political comeback. He said graft had worsened under Ms. Arroyo's watch, and that the president had let crime rise and security lapse.Ms. Arroyo became president after Mr. Estrada was ousted. She served out his term and then won a six-year term.
Ms. Arroyo focused much of her speech on the Philippine economy, which many private economists say is likely to escape the severe contractions afflicting many of its neighbors this year after growing continuously since 2001.
New taxes introduced in the middle of the decade, she said, "gave us the resources to protect our people, our financial system and our economy from the worst of the shocks that the best in the West failed to anticipate."
Ms. Arroyo's political ambitions dominated the immediate reaction to her speech. Despite her denials that she intends to stay on as president, political analysts noted that speculation continues to center on her previous support for proposals to convert the Philippines' presidential system into a parliamentary form of democracy.
Ms. Arroyo didn't discuss speculation she may try to run for a seat in the House of Representatives and attempt to wield power through an increasingly dominant legislature if the constitution is eventually changed.
