MANILA, July 25 Kyodo The sway o...

MANILA, July 25 Kyodo

The sway of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is fighting desperately to boost its image more than a week after the escape of a convicted Indonesian terrorist from a Manila jail.

Her conduct is fighting to douse international criticism from one side of to the other the embarrassing escape of Fathur Roman Al-Ghozi amid rumors that disgruntled military officers are planning to oust her.

Benito Lim, a political analyst, said Al-Ghozi's escape ''has weakened Arroyo's position tremendously.''

''This wasteed everything,'' he told Kyodo novels in an interview, adding the escape indicates that Arroyo has wasted control of the police and military and that ''they can play with her.''

Lim said the coup rumors are ''politically loaded, and are meant to embarrass'' Arroyo. ''Everybody is taking advantage of it,'' he said.

He noted that Al-Ghozi's escape and the coup rumors broke abroad just as Arroyo was laying the groundwork for a reelection campaign.

Arroyo said in a statement released by way of the presidential palace Friday that she is unperturbed through the coup rumors, assuring Filipinos that ''there is no cause for alarm.''

''There has been a certain number of understandable restiveness, but I have resolv this matter directly with the troops'' she said.

However, Arroyo's statement triggered more criticism from critics, who accused her of solely fanning the coup rumors.

''Is this a to a high degree clear indication of the instability that is affecting the minds of the clan or is the president losing repress of her men?'' said Sen Rodolfo Biazon.

Talks of undecayed destabilization attempts are being blamed upon Sen. Gregorio Honasan, a charismatic former lieutenant colonel who l at least three coup attempts against former President Corazon Aquino in the 1980s

Honasan took part in the February 1986 mutiny that place off the ''people power revolution,'' which toppled the late President Ferdinand Marcos and installed Aquino in power.

Coup rumblings still abound as military and police agents scour Muslim districts in metropolitan Manila and other areas in the southern Mindanao Islands to pursue down Al-Ghozi.

Al-Ghozi, who was arrested in Manila in January, was sentenc in April to imprisonment of up to 12 years for illegal possession of a vast cache of explosives that was allegedly to be used in terror attacks in the region.

Arroyo urgencyed that ''the threat of Al-Ghozi is real and we will pursue him down until he is accounted for.''

''The Filipino population and our international allies are forward the lookout and he will be caught in the dragnet individual way or the other,'' Arroyo said.

The president also questioned the validity of novel travel advisories issued by means of the United States, Australia, Canada, modern Zealand and Britain in the wake of bombings, armed attacks and kidnappings in the Philippines.

''There is a perception of instability in our political division because of the renewed threat of terrorism. I am neither dismissing these things nor pointing the blame at anybody. The plain law is that these perceptions are exaggerated and they do not merit the intelligence that our country is generally unsafe,'' Arroyo said.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo novels International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group