Gonzales says Lenten, summer breaks to defuse destab attempts

MANILA, Philippines - National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales on Tuesday said the forthcoming Lenten and summer breaks will defuse fresh attempts to overthrow the current administration. This, as Gonzales said the worst of the moves to oust President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from office has passed and was proven unsuccessful. “We have reached the peak (of destabilization moves). Everything has been said. The worst lies have been expressed. We have seen the worst," he said. By "worst" Gonzales was referring to the Feb. 29 rally in Makati City, where thousands of people from different sectors of society marched along Ayala Avenue to demand the immediate resignation of President Arroyo amid the ZTE broadband mess rocking her administration. Gonzales said the Lenten break would defuse the tension as everybody goes on vacation, and that this would be helped along by the fact that students, which are being targeted by the opposition's propaganda efforts, would also have their summer vacation. Gonzales noted that nothing damaging would come out of the Senate hearings on the ZTE controversy, adding that he does not expect the opposition to revive the ZTE issue until a month from now and that it will continue toward the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July. He said there might also be another fresh but unsuccessful attempt to impeach the President sometime in October. - GMANews.TV