In a countermove, Arroyo, who said she will ensure a smooth transition before her term ends on June 30, appointed an ally as Supreme Court chief justice on Wednesday, which critics said was aimed at shielding her from graft investigations.

Aquino campaigned on a platform of fighting corruption and improving governance, and said he would tackle the budget deficit by reviewing government spending and boosting revenues through cracking down on tax evasion.

"We will start prosecuting the evaders. We will start picking the low-lying fruit, the easiest to pick," Aquino said. "Before we start imposing new taxes, we should be collecting the taxes that are already there."

The outgoing president still plans to be a political force. She won a seat in Congress and the Philippine media says she hopes to become house speaker and use this position to challenge the power of the presidency.

Her appointment of Renato Corona to head the Supreme Court sparked renewed accusations she is trying to put allies in key positions before leaving office.

Corona was her chief of staff when Arroyo was vice-president and also for a year after she became president in 2001.

Of 15 Supreme Court judges, 14 will be Arroyo appointees with one position remaining vacant.

"There is a necessity also for reforming our judicial system so we are not locked in a battle in the courts in the next two decades," Aquino said.

He dismissed the prospect of Arroyo becoming speaker in the lower house, saying it was unheard of for an opposition candidate to secure the position.

But Arroyo's brother-in-law said she stands a good chance.

"If you look at the numbers, many of those who won (seats in Congress) are loyal to her," Ignacio Arroyo Jr. told Reuters. "If she runs, I will vote for her."

Election commission Comelec has stopped updating its unofficial tallies, having said Aquino had more than 40 percent of votes, leading former president Joseph Estrada by 15 percentage points, with nearly 80 percent of ballots counted.

Estrada has said he won't concede based on unofficial results but does not plan any protest of the outcome.

Reuters

(China Daily 05/13/2010 page11)