MANILA, Philippines—The opposition is never saying amen to what Press Secretary Jesus Dureza believes as a humorous but harmless prayer wishing for an extended rule of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

“I think this is a trial balloon so the Palace could gauge the reaction of the people … if Charter change can happen now or not at this time,” Sen. Francis Escudero told reporters Wednesday.

Escudero reminded that Dureza was after all the spokesperson of Ms Arroyo and “whether it involves a prayer or a speech (that Dureza is giving) it’s still like the President who is speaking.”

“Bless the President so she will have the forbearance, good health, tolerance to lead this nation up to 2010 and perhaps, who knows, even beyond,” Dureza had said in his prayer, prompting Ms Arroyo to mutter “Oh my God.” The President later asked newsmen to put the incident off the record.

“I’m sure the Lord has a sense of humor and my prayer was in that context,” Dureza later explained in a briefing.

‘She was thrilled’

Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Ms Arroyo’s former social welfare secretary, told reporters after the House impeachment hearing on Wednesday that Dureza had clearly staged the whole thing, knowing that the media were allowed to cover the opening of every Cabinet meeting.

“She (Ms Arroyo) was surprised but she did not get angry. She smiled, she was thrilled. We all know how she gets angry if she does not like what is happening. It was planned and they are saying they can push for Cha-cha to test how strong the reaction of the public will be.

“They really have no intentions of going down,” Soliman said.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita Wednesday maintained that Ms Arroyo was keeping her word to step down in 2010.

But Escudero said Dureza did not commit a gaffe. The Palace would pass it off as a joke first before making it a serious thing in the coming weeks, he said.

The prayer came at a time when some senators expressed apprehension over the leadership of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, a staunch ally of the President, that would somehow lead to the Palace getting its wish to amend the Charter and possibly extend Ms Arroyo’s term beyond 2010.

Wednesday, Enrile reiterated that while he had always been for Congress to amend the 1987 Constitution, this would not happen without the support of Congress and the people themselves.

He said he did not think Palace officials wanted to push Charter change at this time.

“That was simply a wish,” Enrile said of Dureza’s prayer. “Don’t be bothered by those kind of statements,” he told reporters.

Not on Cabinet agenda

Ermita insisted that the subject of Charter change was not on the agenda of Cabinet meetings lately. In fact, he said, Ms Arroyo often reminded officials to complete government projects in time for the expiration of her term in 2010.

“The focus of the President is to discuss how to implement the projects as speedily as possible,” Ermita said.

He said that among Malacañang’s priorities was the country’s plan of action to address the impact of the global financial crisis. The government is expecting the turmoil to hit local shores by next year.

Silent prayer

Wednesday night, Dureza issued a brief statement “to set the records straight” that the President was “terribly upset due to my prayer.”

“Although immediately after the Cabinet meeting, she did not show much displeasure because I told her about my drowned-out phrase ‘in her personal and private capacity’ and that I requested media to keep it off the record, I apologized to her later that day when media reported with a spin for a term extension and at her expense,” he said.

“In hindsight, it was a mistake on my part to subject the President to such undeserved flak. I take full responsibility and own up solely to the blame. One lesson I learned is that next time I pray, I’ll pray in silence.”

When informed that Ms Arroyo had castigated Dureza, Escudero said, “probably that was part of (the Palace) script.”

Still, he also pointed out that Dureza should have prayed in private and not before television cameras because God was likely not going to grant his wish.