Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Sunday vowed to cut graft in half by the year 2008 while urging the Filipinos to avoid what she called "dirty politics".

In a speech marking the 107th anniversary of Philippines' indepdence from Spanish colonial rule at the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park in central Manila, Arroyo said the government will be 50 percent corrupt-free in three and a half years.

Arroyo said her renewed drive against corruption will focus on weeding out government officials who have links to illegal gambling, also called jueteng.

"In three years, the government will be rid of graft and corruption. We want to curb corruption stemming from illegal gambling," she said.

The president also said that the first phase of the government's reform program has been completed after the Senate and the House of Representatives passed the expanded value-added tax (EVAT) bill,which is expected to raise an extra 100 billion pesos (1.85 billion US dollars) of public income each year from 2006.

She also urged an end to "dirty politics" which has plagued the political life of the country.

"I'm calling on everybody to stay away from dirty politics and focus on economic development, which is key to absolute independence," she said. The political life of the Philippines was recently shaken by the appearance of a mysterious tape allegedly recording a phone talk between Arroyo and an election commission official during last year's presidential election, in which Arroyo allegedly asked for help to win the election through vote rigging. The government strongly denied the allegation and said the tape was the product of wiretapping and manipulation by opposers of the president.

Moreover, some opponents of the president also accused Arroyo's family of getting kickbacks from illegal gambling business. The government denied the accusation while promising to allow a public investigation over the issue.

Source: Xinhua