Dumaguete City Mayor Agustin Perdices said he will neither organize nor join any counter-move hatched by political allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to show that the embattled president enjoys strong support from local government units.

Perdices said he heard “indirectly” that some allies of the president are asking local officials to organize a counter demonstration on Monday, simultaneous with a similar activity spearheaded by the opposition and critics of Arroyo.

The mayor said he does not like the idea of having the anti-Arroyo forces and her supporters clash or engage in confrontation.

Some officials in Negros Oriental shared his thoughts on the matter, he said, referring to Rep. George Arnaiz (Neg. Or., 2nd district).

“It does not mean that I am abandoning GMA, but I do not want to use my position to organize a rally against the other side,” Perdices said.

He said it is the right of the people to demonstrate against the administration, but it does not sound good for government officials to spearhead a rally against anybody.

“We don’t want to be used as tools. We are supporting the administration up to the point where we are no longer convinced that it deserves the support,” Perdices said.

Meanwhile, Perdices said, right now, it is far-fetched for Arroyo or any president to resign, simply because of the call for her resignation. He said unless there is a very strong evidence that will link the president to serious anomalies, the presidency is not easy to give up.

So far, there is no strong evidence yet to link directly the president to the controversy, even with the testimonies of whistle-blower Rodolfo Lozada, Perdices said.*RA

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