MANILA, June 28 (Xinhuanet) -- The Philippine government Tuesday called for the closure of wiretapping incident after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo admitted on Monday night that she made a call to an election official in the May 2004 elections.

    Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye also challenged that wiretapping cellphone conversations is against the Anti-Wiretapping Law, which prohibits the public airing of wiretaps without the explicit permission of people whose conversation or communications have been recorded.

    "Now that the president has admitted that she talked to a poll official and that the conversations were recorded, it is clear that these recordings are wiretapped," Bunye said in an interview with the TV ABS-CBN.

    "Our law on wiretapping has not yet been amended: it is still in effect so we should follow what is said in the law," he added.

    Arroyo said in the TV speech on Monday night that she has had conversation during the slow election canvassing process last May with many people including the officials from the independent Commission of Election because she was anxious to "protect my vote."

    But she denied the intent to influence the outcome of the election,

    However, Rep. Gilbert Remulla, who leads the audiotape investigation committee at the House of Representatives, said that the president should waive her right to privacy after her admission to allow the tape being played in the public hearing.

    Despite Arroyo's admission, there is still some public perception that the government is hiding part of truth about the tapes, he added.

    "There are more questions raised by the president's admission. She should waive her right to privacy so that we will know the extent of the conversations," he told the ABS-CBN.

    Senate Minority Floor Leader Aquilino Pimentel, who has been demanding Arroyo's resignation since the disclosure of wiretappingtapes, told reporters in an interview that the president's admission is "another mistake on her part to fool the people again" and "reveals an attempt at a cover-up."

    Arroyo said that her call to the election official did not influence the election result because all votes had been counted then.

    But, Pimentel said that certain municipalities were still counting the votes at the time of the president call.

    "Moreover, the canvassing at the provincial and city levels wasstill incomplete at that time of the taped conversation. And certainly the national canvassing was in progress," he said.

    According to the House of Representatives, the first lawmaker Tuesday morning endorsed the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo filed by an independent lawyer, Oliver Lozano, onMonday.

    According to the rules of procedures on impeachment proceedingsin the present Congress, any citizen through a verified complaint that is endorsed by any member of the House through a resolution of endorsement may file an impeachment complaint in the House of Representatives. Enditem