MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was prayed over by priests from her home province of Pampanga on Thursday, the eve of an inter-faith rally to press for her ouster amid corruption charges.

But Monsignor Eugenio Mercado Jr., said that they were praying for "unity" and that they were not taking sides in the political turmoil caused by the national broadband network controversy.

"[The purpose of] the Pampanga clergy coming to Malacañang is to make a pray over to the President. That is the main objective, we pray for unity among Filipinos, we pray with the President," said Mercado, who is assigned with the Lourdes Parish in Angeles City.

"There are no political issues involved here," Mercado said but acknowledged that the President needed prayers, "especially at this time."

Mercado said "more than 40" of the over 100 priests in the President's home province called on the President at the Palace.

He said they came "voluntarily," adding that they pray over the President "occasionally" either in Malacañang or in her hometown of Lubao.

Asked if their coming to Malacañang was an expression of support for Arroyo, Mercado said: "It depends? when we pray, we ask for God's support, and so we support the President."

The President is fighting off fresh calls for her ouster amid allegations that she and her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, pocketed millions of dollars in kickbacks from the alleged overprice of the government's $329-million contract with China's ZTE Corp. for the NBN project.

While it did not join calls for her resignation, the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has asked Arroyo to lead the fight against corruption and scrap Executive Order 464, which bars her Cabinet officials from testifying in legislative inquiries without her permission.