MANILA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino Tuesday urged the current President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyoto resign, saying it is the best to resolve the "moral crisis" the nation faces.

    "The most noble and least disruptive way out of the moral crisis would be for the President to resign from office," Aquino said in her speech a day after the celebration of the People Power Revolution of 1986.

    Twenty-two years ago, hundreds of thousands of protesters marched out in defiance of tanks and armed government soldiers to call for the resignation of late strongman President Ferdinand Marcos, who had clinched on power for 22 years. The date of Feb. 25 is, since then, commemorated every year as "People Power Revolution".

    On Monday, pro- and anti-Arroyo Filipinos held separate rallies in different areas of the country as the president was hounded by allegations that her husband and some of her Cabinet members had been involved in a controversial national telecommunications project.

    Aquino, first female president of the Philippines serving from 1986 to 1992, said Filipinos are often "pushed to the brink" due to the current political environment in the country wherein "abuse of power in the face of weak democratic institutions closes all doors of legitimate redress."

    On Tuesday, an official from the presidential palace gave an immediate reaction to Aquino's speech.

    "The search for the truth and justice must not be coupled with a political advocacy of resignation, lest other selfish motivations are imprinted to the call," said deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez.

    The spokesman said processes in the Constitution which were crafted and ratified during Aquino's term should be followed, referring to probes that are being conducted by the Ombudsman and justice department on the allegations of bribery in the scrapped project.

    "Former President Aquino is credited for the very Constitution we as a nation is following, and this same Constitution has given us the solution for searching for the truth through our justice system, not through a resignation call or trial by publicity," said Golez.

    Earlier, President Arroyo said she will not resign from presidency before her term finishes in 2010.

    She also denied her family took bribes in the project and vowed to punish anyone who is found guilty of corruption according to laws.

    "Nobody is above the law," she said, adding that she had ordered the country's prosecuting agency, the Ombudsman's Office ,to investigate the controversy.