Word: arroyos
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...Since the Maguindanao massacre, President Gloria Arroyo has faced a clamor of calls to dismantle the long-established private armed groups run by regionally powerful strongmen to protect their political and economic interests. Elections routinely become a dirty showdown when a clean sweep isn't anticipated, as armed goons intimidate rival candidates, cow voters and coerce Comelec officials with bribes and threats to rig votes...
...convoy on their way to file candidacy papers for a local politician were attacked by up to 100 gunmen in what officials are calling a political massacre "unequaled in recent history." A dozen journalists were slain, along with the wife of gubernatorial hopeful Ismael Mangudadatu. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a local state of emergency and vowed to pursue the perpetrators, who were alleged to be connected to the region's current governor, an Arroyo ally...
...Nevertheless, Arroyo's deep unpopularity is seen hurting the chances of her ruling party's presidential bet Gilberto Teodoro, an urbane 43-year-old US-trained lawyer and, according to analysts, a competent former defense secretary. Teodoro's dismal placing in the polls - he trails the top three candidates - may change as he gets more into the public eye. "He offers firm leadership and understands the security situation," says political commentator Alex Magno, who expects security matters will be a prominent election issue. In the intertwined world of this country's dynastic politics, Teodoro and Aquino are related as cousins...
...highly unusual step, President Arroyo - a hard-working but unloved leader - is running for a congressional seat in her family's home province of Pampanga, which is being specially vacated by her son. Some suspect a dark plot to keep Arroyo in power under a new political system being pushed by her allies. For her part, Arroyo insists public service is "emblazoned in my DNA." The odds are she will win the seat...
...election issue for foreign investors. Over the past years, the Philippines has generally slipped in the rankings of global corruption surveys. And Aquino's bid for the presidency taps a yearning for the honesty in government demonstrated during his mother's terms. To be sure, the economy peaked under Arroyo's leadership, expanding 7.2 per cent in 2007 before being punctured by the global recession. But allegations of vote-rigging in 2004's polls and corruption controversies over government contracts have overshadowed that achievement...