Arroyo to face decisive moment when bishops make statement on crisis

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will face a decisive moment when the influential Catholic Bishops Conference (CBCP) of the country is due to make a statement on the current political crisis Saturday afternoon.

Local television net work ABS-CBN News said the CBCP is also expected to join the chorus calling for her to resign.

Arroyo is under increasing pressure for resignation after 10 cabinet members resigned Friday and called on her to quit. Former president Cory Aquino also has called on Arroyo to make the " supreme sacrifice" because "good and effective government has become an impossible undertaking" for her.

Arroyo, whose mandate runs until 2010, is facing the toughest test of her four years as leader over allegations that she tried to influence the vote-count in last year's presidential elections and that family members took kickbacks from the illegal gambling business "jueteng".

ABS-CBN News quoted Catholic Church sources as saying that the bishops were leaning toward asking Arroyo to sacrifice herself for the good of the nation in a statement to be issued on Saturday afternoon.

The church has traditionally played a politically powerful role in this predominantly Catholic nation and has been at the forefront of two popular revolts that toppled former presidents Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001.

Source: Xinhua