Pipol Power

After weeks of potest, it seems the Filipino military contingent in Iraq is finally leaving. The protests against the deployment of Philippine troops heightened after Angelo De la Cruz, a truck driver from Mexico, Pampanga, was taken hostage. The Iraqi rebels threatened to kill Angelo unless the Philippines withdrew its troops from their country.  President Arroyo was caught inbetween the public opinion, which favored a pull-out, and the pressure from the US government to maintain a hardline stance. The domestic public opinion, and pressure by progressive groups, proved to be decisive and convinced president Arroyo that a pull-out was the only way to avoid her own political isolation so early after her contested victory in the polls.
 
Arroyo concedes...