Election Rigging Scandal

On June 10, Samuel Ong, a former deputy director of the country's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), claimed to have a set of original audio tapes of a wiretapped conversation between President Arroyo and an official of the Commission on Elections. The contents of the tape allegedly proved, according to Ong, that the 2004 national election was rigged by Arroyo by around one (1) million votes, and defeating his opponent by around the same number of votes. (see complete transcript of alleged conversations). On June 27, Arroyo admitted to inappropriately speaking to a Comelec official, claiming it was a mere "lapse in judgement", but denied influencing the outcome of the election.

On July 8, ten appointed cabinet officials filed their resignation and asked the president to do the same. Later that day, the Liberal Party and former president Corazon Aquino, both former allies of the president, joined calls for her resignation. Arroyo again affirmed her rejection of these calls.

Former president Fidel Ramos has remained an ally of Arroyo, strongly rejecting calls for her to resign and suggesting an immediate constitutional change which would shift the Philippines from a unitary-presidential system of government to a federal-parliamentary system.

In September 2005, the House of Representatives voted 158 to 51 effectively killing the impeachment case against Arroyo, citing it as "insufficient in substance". Despite their promises, the political opposition failed to deliver the 79 votes needed to transmit the case to the senate. Even key members of the opposition failed to vote due to absence while some simply changed their minds in the last minute.

Despite the House vote, Arroyo's government still faces an unrelenting opposition which continues to organize street rallies and media protests even at the expense of economic progress. Former president Corazon Aquino, a key Arroyo ally in the 2001 People Power Revolution (EDSA II), sided with the opposition leading the rallies on the street.

Immediately after the House killed the impeachment complaints, the Social Weather Station (SWS) released a series of polls suggesting that the public continues to be unconvinced about Arroyo's standing in government. 79% of respondents wanted their president impeached over her telephone conversation with an election official which was believed to be tantamount to cheating. 64% say they want Arroyo to resign while 51% believe that a people power revolt is the solution to removing her from office.