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MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES - PHILIPPINE President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo defended her anti-corruption credentials after a witness in a Senate probe into alleged kickbacks said she was at the centre of the country's graft problems.
In a weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mrs Arroyo said she had allocated 3 billion pesos (S$105 million) to fight corruption in recent years and her government had spearheaded lifestyle checks of officials suspected of living beyond the means of their government salaries.
'Dozens of government officials had been removed and charged in court every year because of our lifestyle check,' she said.
Allegations of graft and vote-fraud have scarred Mrs Arroyo's presidency, provoking three impeachment complaints and at least three coup plots. The latest scandal, over alleged kickbacks in a government telecoms deal with China's ZTE, has revived calls for her resignation.
On Monday, a star witness at the Senate inquiry into the now-scrapped ZTE deal, said Mrs Arroyo was 'at the centre of the web or ecosystem of corruption in the country'.
Mr Rodolfo Lozada, a former government official, had earlier testified that state contracts were usually overpriced by 22 per cent to include kickbacks to state officials.
Mr Lozada's testimony encouraged about 10,000 people to call for Mrs Arroyo's resignation in a rally in Manila's financial district last week and opposition groups are planning another rally on Feb 25, the anniversary of the overthrow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Political analysts say that Mrs Arroyo's position is secure because she has the support of the military and the lower house of Congress and many Filipinos want stability during the last 2 years of her final term. -- REUTERS
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