¡¡¡¡MANILA, Oct. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced Saturday that she will run for president in the general elections in May 2004, ending months of speculations about her political plans.

¡¡¡¡"I have deferred my retirement. I will offer myself to the electorate in 2004," Arroyo announced her decision before a gathering of some 30,000 people in her home province of Pampanga north of Manila.

¡¡¡¡The president had kept the entire country in suspense on whether or not she would backtrack from her last December's declaration not to seek a full six-year term in the 2004 polls.

¡¡¡¡"We must give ourselves a fresh start. In more than two and a half years, I have gained the experience to understand what we need to do in order to change society in a way that leads to the economic development and the elimination of poverty," Arroyo declared before the crowd gathered at Clark, a former US military base.

¡¡¡¡She said her last December's declaration was rooted on her desire to end political bickering and assure stability, but such political attacks remained despite her "sacrifice."

¡¡¡¡"We need to heal the deep divisions within our society. We mustput a closure to our national divisions," she stressed.

¡¡¡¡"Let us not allow rootless politics to distract us from the all-important task of nation-building," said Arroyo, as she described herself as "the leader with the experience and vision" necessary to change society and eliminate poverty.

¡¡¡¡She called for both reform and reconciliation and said she prayed to God to grant her the grace "to heal the land" and bring about "a bureaucracy unhampered by corruption."

¡¡¡¡In her speech, Arroyo also cited her administration's achievements in over two and a half years, in such fields as economic development, political reforms, peace and order, and the fight against poverty and corruption.

¡¡¡¡Arroyo, 56, was elected vice president in the 1998 general elections and assumed presidency in January 2001 in a military-backed popular revolt that ousted her scandal-ridden predecessor, Joseph Estrada, who is now detained and standing trial for the capital offense of plunder.

¡¡¡¡Under the Constitution, presidents serve only six years and cannot be re-elected. However, Arroyo is not prohibited from running in the 2004 elections because she was never elected president and merely succeeded to the office. Enditem