God has told her not to seek another term as the Philippines’ President.
Speaking on local radio, 55-year old Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced she had decided to drop out of the presidential race in 2004. "It is God who puts ideas in my heart," explained Arroyo.
"In fact, in my attendance at Mass, it felt to me like He was telling me that He chose me to become president because He also knows that when He tells me not to run, then I would not run," she said.
Arroyo, a devout Catholic announced her decision not to run Monday, December 30, at Manila’s Rizal Park, where earlier this year an estimated 2.8 million people prayed for the president at rally with American evangelist Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).
"JESUS IS LORD"
During the emotionally charged "Jesus is Lord, 24th Anniversary Celebration" Robertson with his wife Dede at his side, and Bishop Eddie Villanueva of Jesus is Lord Church, were also praying with Arroyo, while many people accepted Christ in their lives, CBN reported.
"Lord, You have brought this special woman into power in this time, in the history of the Philippines," said Pat Robertson standing next to the President during the rally in October.
"She has come…as Queen Esther said, ‘for such a time as this.’ And Lord, for these days, and this time, she needs Your power. And we pray a special anointing on her now of the Holy Spirit of God," he said.
TOWER OF STRENGTH
"And Lord, may she know your perfect will. Unite the hearts of the Philippine people to support her, and to bless her, that she might have a glorious time in office. And that she might be a tower of strength and a mother of this nation."
It was unclear if the rally had influenced her decision not to run. However Arroyo suggested Monday, December 30, that she had had been reflecting on the idea of not running, and that God was her "most important adviser."
Arroyo made clear she hoped her resignation could heal the wounds and political rifts that have marked the Philippines in recent years.
SACRIFICE FOR COUNTRY
"If I don’t make this sacrifice, what will happen to our country…to prevent all of this, a sacrifice is needed. The first one who should make the sacrifice is the one who leads the country," Arroyo said in the radio interview.
Bishop Socrates Villegas, spokesman of influential Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, described the announcement as "a heroic" decision. "This is what ‘country first before self’ means," he said.
Some opponents also praised Arroyo’s decision. "Now that the president has paved the way toward one goal — that is, to uplift the lives of Filipinos — by setting aside her political ambition, we all have to support her," said opposition senator and potential 2004 challenger Panfilo Lacson.
POPULAR REVOLT
Arroyo came to power in January 2001 when President Joseph Estrada was ousted in a popular revolt backed by generals and bishops. The former matinee idol is now behind bars, on trial for economic plunder.
An economist by training and an admirer of Britain’s "Iron Lady," former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m) Arroyo wore the look of a warrior in the early days of her presidency, the Reuters news agency commented.
Yet the uphill battle against Muslim separatists and corruption scandals within her government amid a struggling economy has tainted her legacy, commentators noted.
DISAPPOINTMENT AMONG FRIENDS
But her withdrawal was expected to lead to some disappointment among her Christian friends, including Robertson.
"This nation sits in the South China Sea, and it’s close to Japan, close to Korea, close to China, close to Indonesia, close to Australia, and close to all of Southeast Asia. This is the only Christian nation in all of Southeast Asia, he said during his recent trip in Manilla.
About 84 percent of the Philippines estimated 78 million people are Roman Catholic, only 4 percent are Muslims.
