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Raissa Robles

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gets plenty of sex, does not bother about her looks and is awaiting a message from God on whether to run for election in 2004.

'Plenty [of sex],' the diminutive 55-year-old mother of three reiterated

Her smiling reply yesterday was greeted with glee and laughter by the foreign and local media, foreign diplomats, police top brass and businessmen attending the annual Foreign Correspondents' Association of the Philippines luncheon with the president. The question had been prompted by rumours that her marriage was under strain.

Known for her 12-to-14-hour workdays, Mrs Arroyo was asked if the heavy schedule left her with enough time for her family.

The daughter of late president Diosdado Macapagal replied: 'My father always used to tell me that for a public servant, the priority should be God first, then country, and the family should be last.'

Asked where her husband, Jose Miguel, fitted into her schedule, she replied: 'Well, the husband is in the family. Sundays are family days.'

Interspersed with serious questions on terrorism and foreign policy, Mrs Arroyo was asked to reveal her secret in looking young and wrinkle-free.  'I've never been overly concerned about my looks. Maybe God gave me genes to look young,' she said.

However, as president, she said she had an assistant to plan her wardrobe and an in-house hairdresser, 'so I don't have to bother'.

Faced with a barrage of questions on her plans to run for president in 2004, the quick-tempered Mrs Arroyo never lost her cool, which she has sometimes done during her rare press conferences inside the presidential palace.

Instead, she deftly flicked away all questions on her future political plans.

To one foreign correspondent, she said: 'Politically, I'm fatalistic. I think the presidency is made in heaven and up to God.' She told another: 'If my opponents think I'm thinking about 2004, that's their problem, because they're always thinking about 2004.'

The press luncheon was originally scheduled for last week, but Mrs Arroyo cancelled just hours before the event. The presidential palace offered to foot the bill for the already prepared meal.

Mrs Arroyo pleaded a sore throat after diving, surfing and snorkelling in various tourist spots in the country.

But the foreign press surmised that the killing of American serviceman Mark Jackson in a bomb explosion in southern Philippines was the real reason for the cancellation.



Sex aplenty for youthful Arroyo