Manila, Philippines
If Filipinos could vote with their cell phones, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would be in real trouble. Arroyo has been hounded by accusations of fraud in last spring’s election, which she won by just over 1 million votes. The key evidence is an audiotape on which she is heard asking the head of the electoral commission, “So, can I still win by 1 million votes?” Snippets of Arroyo’s conversation have been set to tunes like “Ice, Ice, Baby” and posted all over the Internet for easy downloading. Such audio clips have now become the most popular ring tones on Philippine cell phones. For now, at least, the political elite is sticking by Arroyo. Former president Fidel Ramos this week came out publicly in support of her, and the country’s influential Catholic bishops declined to support the opposition.
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