Protesters began gathering in the Metro Manila's fiancial district of Makati Wednesday morning to call for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is haunted by accusation of election fraud and corruption.

Opposition predicted that as many as 50,000 will gather for Wednesday's rally, but any gathering bigger than 20,000 might signal a rise in public anger against Arroyo after she was spared from collapse by a statement of the Roman Catholic Church opposign her resignation calls.

Renato Reyes, head of the leftwing Bayan (people) group opposed to the government which is the main organizer of the rally, said the rally is aimed at pressuring for the immediate resignation of Arroyo and they are "relying on mobilizing huge numbers so the president will be forced to step down".

Arroyo has rejected repeated calls for her resignaiton, including those of former president Cory Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon, some former renegade members of her cabient and some business leaders of the country.

The president said she would work on the constitutional reform proposed by former president Fidel Ramos, which could provide her with an "exist of grace" through a one-year transitional period during which a new constitition will be drafted and new elections held next year.

She also challenged the opposition to settle their discontent with her at the Congress through a possible impeachment process.

Most political parties expressed their support to constitional reform during a meeting Tuesday in Manila.

Philippine military and national police force have been put on the highest alert to prevent the outbreak of violence during the protest. The military said leftwing anti-government rebels and terrorists could take advantage of the occasion to spread disorder in the capital region.

The local television network ABS-CBN News quoted police intelligence officer as saying anti-Arroyo forces had a "war-chest " of 25 million pesos (440,000 US dollars) and hopes to attract up to 1 million people in their next gathering on the coming Sunday.

Leftist, radical students and discontent farmers will join hands for the first time with the traditional anti-Arroyo opposition headed by former president Joseph Estrada, who was toppled by a popular revolt in early 2001, and Susan Roces, the widow of late movie star and presidential candidate Ferdinand Poe Jr.

Recent anti-Arroyo rallies have failed to draw huge crowds which were seen during the "People Power" revolts that ousted former president Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Estrada in 2001.

About 6,000 policemen, including units from nearby provinces, will be deployed for crowd-control duty, backed by 1,000 soldiers in charge of security for Manila, said the National Capital Regional Police chief, Vidal Querol.

The military said the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which is outlawed by the government and is engaged in a guerrilla warfare with government forces, could infiltrate the crowds on Wednesday.

But in a statement published Tuesday, the CPP dismissed the allegations as "outright lies meant to justify the use of force and dissuade people from joining street rallies."

CPP spokesman Gregorio Rosal was quoted by local media as saying that the CPP would not take part in the protest.

Source: Xinhua