MANILA, Feb. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo congratulated on Monday the members of the Philippine Marines for peacefully and immediately resolving a stand-off incident Sunday night, during which some Marine officers and soldiers protested the sacking of their commander.

    The five-hour stand-off at the Marines headquarters in Taguig City east to Manila ended peacefully as the protesting marines returned to their barracks and declared loyalty to the "chain of command" of the military, a term referring to the military hierarchy with Arroyo being its commander-in-chief.

    During a televised round-table discussion with some members ofher cabinet in charge of economics, Arroyo also thanked the Filipino people for their continuous faith in her government and vowed to work "triply hard" to improve their lives.

    "This was not the time to take credit for what happened but just salute the soldiers for their strong sense of professionalism and for refusing to be used for partisan politics," she said.

    Arroyo also expressed her hopes that her Proclamation No. 1017 declaring the state of national emergency would further improve the economic environment by ensuring security in the country.

    "The only substantial victory we can be proud of is winning the fight against poverty," she said. "Now the government will work triply hard to make sure that we sustain our momentum and avoid an economic fallout."

    Meanwhile, the military said Sunday night's protest by some Marine officers and soldiers could be linked with a wider plot to overthrow the government and the military is investigating the participants of the protest.

    Arroyo declared a state of emergency on Friday after the military said it discovered a coup attempt to overthrow the government. But the identity of key organizers of such a coup still remains vague. Enditem