"We are determined to clean out residual threats of destabilization with the heaviest arsenal of Constitutional measures we can muster, and with full regard for human rights, whatever our critics say or do to twist the meaning and legitimacy of our action," President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said yesterday.

Gov. Joseph Marañon yesterday said that he does not believe any new attempts to stage a coup against the president on May 1 will succeed. He said that, despite the recent coup attempt, the peso has remained strong, which is a sign that what the president did to avert it was in the right direction.

However, he said the "Garci tapes" and the "fertilizer scam" need to be addressed properly to bring closure to the nagging questions that are causing instability.

The president needs to give an explanation to the satisfaction of the majority of the Filipinos to end these controversies, he said.

What the president also has to address is the need to improve the purchasing power of the people amid the rising prices, the governor added.

The president, in her statement yesterday, said "The steadiness of the markets amidst political turmoil is a constant signal that even as we keep the economy at the forefront of our concerns, we must sustain the clampdown on underground conspiracies until these are completely mopped up and wiped out."

She said the people have suffered enough and she is no longer willing to preside over chronic destabilization disguised as lawful political action. One comprehensive, continuing sweep will deal with rightist coup plotters and left wing insurgents and there will no longer be ifs and buts about it, she said.

"The choice is either to keep this nation up and about in its business, or to allow it to wallow and fester under intensive care. I have made the decision to take the Philippines out of sick bay permanently and we will deal with those who stand in the way with the strong hand of the law," she said.

She said a strong economy steered by strong government is the country's ticket to a better future.*CPG

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