MANILA, Philippines--(UPDATE 3) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she “never expressed desire” to extend her term beyond 2010, but still kept the nation guessing on her political plans as she delivered her ninth and final State of the Nation Address (Sona).

“I have never expressed desire to extend myself beyond my term, many of those who accuse me of it try to cling like nails to their posts,” said Arroyo, who was wearing a bright purple terno.

“At the end of this speech, I shall step down from this stage but not from the presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state to the very last day,” she said.

“A year is a long time. We will continue to invest in the economy, the environment, and education,” she said, adding that after her ninth and supposedly last Sona, it would be “more work” not “all politics.”

In fighting form, Arroyo turned the tables on her critics and urged aspirants in next year’s elections to “give the electorate real choices, not just sweet talk.”

While she did not say whether or not she supported her allies’ push to convene a constituent assembly, Arroyo blasted critics of Charter change, whom she said, opposed it when they could no longer benefit from it.

The President’s annual report to the nation started and ended with a standing ovation. At the start of her speech, she asked for prayers for former President Corazon Aquino, who is battling colon cancer.

Taking on her critics, the President said: “I have not flinched. I have not faltered. Hindi ako umatras sa hamon [I never back out from a challenge].”

“And I have never done any of the things that sacred my critics so much. They are frightened by their own shadows,” she said.

Arroyo said she was accused of corruption by those “with lifestyles and spending habits that make them living proofs of that crime.”

Apparently referring to former President Joseph Estrada, Arroyo said: “Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it especially if they have been there.”

Estrada was freed from house arrest in late 2007, after Arroyo granted him pardon, a month after an anti-graft court convicted him of plunder.

“We can read they’re frustrated. They had the chance to serve this good country and they blew it by serving themselves,” Arroyo said.

The President minced no words against Senator Manuel Roxas, a presidential aspirant who had been criticizing her over the implementation of the cheaper medicines law.

“To those who want to be President, this advice: If you really want something done, just do it, do it hard, do it well, don’t pussy-foot, don’t say bad words in public,” she said.

Arroyo said her support for the tougher version of the law at the House of Representatives over the weaker version of the Senate, spearheaded by Roxas, resulted in a 50-percent cut in the prices of 16 essential drugs.

On Charter change, the President said: “The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.”

Faced with several military uprisings, Arroyo she said she never declared martial law even if her critics were “running scared as if I did.”

“I say to them: do not tell us what we all know, that democracy can be threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked,” she said.

“I know what to do: As I have shown, I will defend democracy with arms when it is threatened by violence; with firmness when it is weakened by division; with law and order where it is subverted by anarchy…” she said.

Arroyo thanked Congress for passing reform measures that prepared the country for the global recession.

“The state of the nation is a strong economy,” she said. “Good news for our people, bad news for critics.”

“I did not become president to be popular [but] to work, to protect… the country, that is why I became president,” she said.

The President also urged Congress to pass more sin taxes, amendments to the central bank charter, and a law extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).