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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Exploring Georgia's southern highlandsThe Week Recommends Visit Javakheti, Georgia's 'lake district', and meet the last-remaining 'spirit wrestlers' in the region
-
Delivery drivers face continuing heat danger with Trump's OSHA pickThe Explainer David Keeling is the former head of UPS and also worked at Amazon
-
Is that the buzzing sound of climate change worsening sleep apnea?Under the radar Catching diseases, not those ever-essential Zzs
