By Paul Alexander
Washington PostJuly 23, 2002
Police used water cannons and truncheons to battle thousands of protesters today, as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pledged in a speech to end poverty in a decade, work more closely with the U.S. military and arrest criminal kingpins.
The demonstrators called for her resignation and demanded an end to the U.S. counterterrorism exercise underway in the southern Philippines.
Referring to the U.S. mission, aimed at helping Philippine troops wipe out the Abu Sayyaf Muslim separatist group, Arroyo said the global anti-terror coalition has helped break "the cycle of terrorism and criminality."
She said the United States will conduct more exercises to boost the poorly trained Philippine military's capabilities. About 1,000 U.S. troops are in the Philippines as part of the current six-month exercise, which ends July 31. The Abu Sayyaf has been loosely linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
"We shall enhance our strategic relationship with the United States through continuing training exercises to sharpen our soldiers' capabilities to move and communicate, to fix and finish off their targets," Arroyo said.
Arroyo also urged the Philippine Congress to quickly pass an anti-terrorism bill now under consideration.
During the speech, her second state of the nation address, Arroyo sought to reassure a country battered by economic woes and crime, outlining a vision for a classless society. She also tried to woo jittery foreign investors, calling the Philippine economy the third-best in Asia.
Formerly vice president, Arroyo was swept to power in January 2001 by mass protests that ousted her now-jailed predecessor, Joseph Estrada. There is widespread speculation that she will seek a six-year term in a presidential vote in 2004.
During her speech, Arroyo focused significantly on issues of law and order. High-ranking smugglers will be treated as economic saboteurs and face capital charges, she said. Criminal syndicates, Arroyo said, will be prosecuted as threats to national security and drug lords as enemies of the state.
"I am determined to build a strong republic by breaking the back of terrorism and criminality," she said.
Protest leaders said 10 of their companions were arrested.
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