The political temperature rose in the Philippines yesterday as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo?s lead over an action movie hero shrank and the slow vote count fanned accusations of cheating and fears of destabilisation.

Police deployed a 1,000-strong anti-riot force yesterday around the Malacanang presidential complex, ready to break up protests by supporters of Arroyo?s rivals in the May 10 elections.

An unofficial tally by the independent watchdog, National Citizens? Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), showed Arroyo?s lead over matinee idol Fernando Poe Jr shrinking to just four percent as of Friday ? 41 per cent to 37 per cent, with the remainder split among three other candidates. Arroyo was leading Poe by 14 per cent on Monday.

NAMFREL, whose «quick count» of the ballots has mirrored the official result in past elections, said it expects to count 60 percent of the ballots by Saturday morning.

«It is sad that 11 days after election day, it is still unclear who has won,» said political strategist Angelito Banayo, who is also a spokesman for Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former national police chief running third in the unofficial count.

Banayo warned the slow count could actually fuel political instability, giving some groups an excuse to claim they were cheated and take their cause to the streets.

Elections in the Philippines are always unruly, with bribery and violence relatively common during the campaign and disputes and lawsuits rife afterwards.

While a history of two popular uprisings and at least nine attempted military coups raises the potential for unrest, the streets have so far been calm and the armed forces have insisted the chain of command is intact.