MANILA, July 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday called for the courtesy resignation of all Cabinet members to pave the way for an administration revamp.

    President Arroyo, however, said in a radio address to the nation that she would insist her presidency despite the opposition's call for her resignation.

    In a strongly worded address, Arroyo maintained that she won the elections but she was a victim of a political system that had degenerated and become destructive to the country and the people.

    "I am not resigning my office. To do so under circumstances that connote an Edsa 3 (the third people's revolution) would condemn any successor to the possibility of an Edsa 4, then an Edsa 5, and so on and so on, unless our political system were first reformed to make it more responsive to the people's will, such that changes in leadership come about in an orderly and stable manner," she said.

    "The world embraced Edsa 1 in 1986. The world tolerated Edsa 2 in 2001. The world will not forgive an Edsa 3 in 2005, but would instead condemn the Philippines as a country whose political system is hopelessly unstable, and the Filipinos as among the finest people in the world, but who always shoot themselves in thefoot," she added.

    Under these circumstances, Arroyo warned nobody would invest in the Philippines. "How would we weather the difficulties arising from the price of crude oil being at its highest in history?"

    The president vowed to work with legislators and civil groups who believe that changes in the fundamental law of the land are necessary in order to confront such basic issues as federalism, the character of the legislative process, reducing red tape in government processes, running for public office under a true partysystem and with less need to raise campaign funds, modernizing the economic provisions of the Constitution and others.

    She said that it was very painful for her to know that she had been demonized as "the bad guy" when she had always thought of herself as on the side of the good.

    Arroyo noted that it was time to confront the "biggest, most painful political truth," which was the fact that the political system had degenerated so much that partis an agenda would come first and national interest last.

    "For example, we have endless investigations and scandals in aid of legislation or executive action. That is the truth. Because of this system of politics, our country has been left behind by other countries in the region, and our best and our brightest, thecream of our youth, are voting with their feet to leave the country. That is the truth," she stressed.

    "I do not blame any individual or political bloc for this sad state of affairs. It is simply the truth that the political systemthat I am part of has degenerated to the point that it needs fundamental change.

    We are collectively to blame, so we must collectively be the solution. Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone. So those who feel that they cannot cast the first stone, I invite youto help in the solution," the president said.

    She said that she would have wanted to announce such changes she would undertake during her state of the nation address but hadto address the people soon.

    "Our country is hungry for a resolution to the political uncertainties that have plagued us these past few weeks, I will bring it up now," she said. Enditem