Protesters storm Philippine ministry

A protest against Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo turned violent yesterday when 300 activists from farmers' groups stormed the compound of the agriculture department in Manila and called on her to resign.

Police quickly cleared dozens of protesters from the main building after they broke windows and chanted "End the Gloria regime". All dispersed after an official talked to them and set a meeting for a later date.

But the incident underlined the volatility of political tensions two days after 30,000 people marched peacefully in Manila's business district, denouncing Ms Arroyo over allegations of election fraud and graft in her family.

Ms Arroyo has refused to step down and has been rebuilding her Cabinet and base of allies after a rash of resignations and defections a week ago that seemed to be pushing her four-year presidency to collapse.

Supporters of the President were planning a counter-rally today at a Manila park and they said the crowd could hit 200,000 people.

Members of Ms Arroyo's Cabinet who quit last week said yesterday the government's economic reforms were under threat and they repeated demands that Ms Arroyo resign "before greater damage is done to our country and to our people".

"The government's priorities are pushed aside to give way to the demands of day-to-day survival," the former officials said in a statement.

Opposition groups, who fell short of their target with the crowd of 30,000 on Wednesday, have vowed bigger rallies around July 25, when Ms Arroyo is to deliver an annual state of the nation address.

But there is no sign the middle class, whose participation was crucial to "people power" revolts that toppled presidents in 1986 and 2001, has joined the rallies by Ms Arroyo's political enemies and groups of leftists, students and farmers.

Opposition hopes of removing Ms Arroyo through an impeachment trial have risen with the desertion of several key allies, but analysts say it is difficult to predict the outcome given the shifting loyalties of Filipino politicians.

An impeachment motion needs 79 votes, or one third of the lower house of Congress, to progress to a trial by the upper house's 23 senators.