This is a test of the emergency broadcast system

FOR a moment, a standoff at Philippine marine headquarters appeared to be heading for a "people power" revolt, complete with military infighting, nuns and priests praying in the chaos and the arrival of pro-democracy icon Corazon Aquino.

But the wrangling marines settled their spat Sunday then retired together to their headquarters as Aquino and a small crowd quietly faded into the night.

It was the latest upheaval hurdled by beleaguered President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who has faced a series of crises during her five years in office.

After failing to either impeach Arroyo over corruption and vote-rigging scandals that emerged last year or whip up a repeat of the historic "people power" revolts that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos and popular leader Joseph Estrada, the deeply fragmented opposition has few options remaining.

The biggest drawback remains the opposition's failure to find an alternative leader who could inspire a following large enough to endanger her.

A key leader of the massive protests that ousted predecessor Estrada in 2001, Arroyo knows how to navigate the political minefields that come with being president of the Philippines.

She has cracked down on street protests and hired a top-notch PR consultant to polish her image. She has barred Cabinet officials from testifying at Senate corruption investigations without her permission.

Many thought the flashpoint might come Friday, the D-day of a reported civilian-backed coup plot that has simmered for months.

Others thought Sunday -- when a marine colonel openly defied a military decision to relieve the top marine commander and urged Filipinos to gather en masse and protect them in their camp -- would be the final straw.

Both fizzled -- the first in a security clampdown that left no chance for military activism, the other when only a few thousand people showed up, well shorts of the hundreds of thousands that turned out for "people power."

After pre-empting the reported coup, Arroyo declared a state of national emergency, shifting to a tougher stance against tenacious opponents. At least three of her critics were arrested and police raided the office of a newspaper critical of her.

-- from the Inquirer