Jalosjos was sentenced to two life terms in 1998 for twice raping an 11-year-old girl. He escaped the death penalty because it had yet to be reimposed in 1996, when the rapes occurred.

Lawyer Leonard de Vera, of the Equal Justice for All Movement, expressed fears that Mrs Arroyo would succumb to 'political pressure [in exchange] for her urgent congressional measures'.

Mrs Arroyo yesterday summoned congress to a three-day special session for lawmakers to discuss her proposed 'lateral attrition' law to strengthen tax collection.

Mr De Vera said that while the president 'needs congressional support, she should not sacrifice justice before the altar of politics'.

The plan for Mrs Arroyo to grant Jalosjos executive clemency was first revealed by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, a former congressional colleague of Jalosjos.

Mr Gonzalez conceded that legally Jalosjos was not yet qualified for parole since he had not even served his minimum sentence.

But he added that 'it is up to the president to use [her powers] for humanitarian reasons'.

There have been conflicting reports on Jalosjos' medical condition.

According to some, he suffered two mild strokes in October and last month. Others said he had a heart attack and needed bypass surgery.

His mother, Angelina, has appealed on nationwide radio for Mrs Arroyo to pardon her son so he can get proper medical treatment.

Although Jalosjos has been in jail since he was arrested in 1997, his wealthy family has remained politically influential in the southern Philippines.

Mrs Arroyo owes the family a huge political debt since the clan enabled her to win big in Zamboanga del Norte province during the presidential polls last May.

Jalosjos' younger brother and sister, Cesar and Cecilia Jalosjos-Carreon, are both in congress. Another brother, Dominador, is mayor of Dapitan City.

The family has managed to maintain power by being on both sides of the political fence. Cesar is a congressman who recently won under deposed president Joseph Estrada's Partido ng Masang Pilipino Party, while his younger sister won as a congresswoman under one of Mrs Arroyo's rainbow coalition parties.

As lawmakers waited for the special session to start yesterday, the proposed resolution for Jalosjos' release was circulated for more signatures.

The session was expected to push the passage of the lateral attrition bill, which would put in place a system of rewarding and punishing collectors of the internal revenue and customs bureaus.

Those who fall short of a target could be transferred, while those who attain it would partake of 20 per cent of the excess collection.

The chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Ralph Recto, said the bill was 'not a revenue generating measure, but mainly a management tool'.

Opposition Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jnr doubted much would be accomplished. 'I suspect the president hit upon the idea of calling a special session to show to the credit-rating agencies that her government is doing all possible steps to have the tax bills passed.'

Mrs Arroyo needs to raise at least 90 billion pesos ($12.45 billion) in new taxes yearly to cut her dependence on borrowings.

As of September, national government debt had reached 3.73 trillion pesos, while the budget deficit stood at 199.9 billion pesos.