If opinion polls can be believed, the 60-year-old Mrs Arroyo is now the most unpopular president the Philippines has had in the past 20 years. A few months ago, her trust rating was lower than that of her ignoble predecessor, Joseph Estrada. Her administration has been linked to murders and human rights abuses, corrupt deals involving billions of pesos, systematic abuse of power and election fraud.

Yet, in a country where two presidents were ousted by 'people power' uprisings, she has thwarted every attempt to dislodge her. She neutralised two impeachment complaints in congress, foiled at least three military coup plots, including one last week, and shrugged off desertions of cabinet members and key political allies.

Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon described her as 'very strong. Very determined.'

Having taken power in 2001 and due to step down in 2010, the former economics teacher looks set to become the republic's longest-serving president outside of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

Mrs Arroyo's fortitude has earned the grudging admiration of adversaries. 'We call her taga-Pata [from Pata],' joked Ustadz Sharif Zain Jali, an official of the Moro National Liberation Front, in a reference to a small island in Muslim Mindanao renowned for its fierce inhabitants. 'A woman who can be president has to be braver than a man.' He said the people of Pata like telling a tall tale of a fellow islander convicted of murder, imprisoned in Manila and then married to a laundry woman, who gave birth to a girl who was adopted by a politician. That baby, goes the legend, became Gloria Arroyo.

To Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, the reasons for his boss' staying power are simple: 'She has done a lot for the economy as shown by the [growth in] gross domestic product and investments ... I admire her. I know she is very dedicated to the job. She's sincere in seeing to it that the programmes she has set forth are carried out.'

The problem is, each time Mrs Arroyo's programmes have worked up a head of steam, they've been brought to a lurching halt by scandal. She's also endured embarrassing revelations such as the temporary exile of her husband a few years ago over allegations he was involved in election cheating.

Other embarrassments include the resignation of her hand-picked election commission chairman under a cloud of corruption allegations, and the furore over an agriculture undersecretary who fled to the US rather than face an inquiry into public funds allegedly used for Mrs Arroyo's 2004 election campaign.

Just before last week's abortive coup, Manila was savouring two tales: one had Mrs Arroyo's husband squabbling with other politicians over huge kickbacks from a telecommunications project funded by China; the other concerned hundreds of congressmen and governors invited to meet the president in her palace and then later receiving bags of cash. A couple of recipients said they were given half a million pesos each.

Stories like these explain why Mrs Arroyo is unpopular - and her reaction to them doesn't help. She has issued executive orders banning officials from participating in investigations, in effect blocking any inquiries. She also has tried banning public rallies without permits, a move the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional. Lately, her adversaries claim, she has moved against the media, with which she has a poor relationship.

Justice Secretary Gonzales said there were 'elements who want to destroy her leadership; these people who are envious of her, who want to sow dissension'. He added: 'There is much black propaganda [against Mrs Arroyo] ... so many people are being misled by these things.'

It's hard seeing the accusations as unfounded rumours, when their airing has led to officials resigning or fleeing the country. Mrs Arroyo has never satisfactorily explained the so-called 'Hello Garci' affair of 2005, when opponents released a recording of a phone conversation between someone who sounded like her and election commissioner Virgilio 'Garci' Garcilliano. The two voices discussed padding the presidential election and kidnapping an election fraud witness.

In a televised 'apology' Mrs Arroyo admitted talking to an election official, but did not identify him and denied any wrongdoing. There were huge demonstrations, nearly half her cabinet ministers resigned in protest and there was an impeachment hearing in congress. Although some insiders said that at one point she was almost ready to resign, Mrs Arroyo decided to tough it out. She survived, but that year was a turning point for many erstwhile supporters. Florencio Abad, who was education secretary until he joined the walkout, said: 'I saw her ascension to power as an opportunity for reform. But after Garci it was a slide down from then on.'

Vicky Garchitorena, another cabinet member who resigned, said: 'You have to demand accountability from our elected officials. It's shameful when you have well-known individuals getting away with breaking the law with impunity.'

Despite being reviled and mocked, Mrs Arroyo almost succeeded in rewriting the constitution to allow her to stay in power indefinitely. 'She is doing her job properly,' said Mr Gonzales. 'I do not think the Filipino people at this point are still willing to be duped by these false prophets of doom.'

Several factors have sustained the president, the most important being the continued support of the military. As Mr Gonzales put it: 'The chain of command is holding, police and military are beholden to her.'

A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that as far as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were concerned, 'She is the legitimately elected president. The AFP does not have a hand in determining whether she was legitimately elected, that's up to the Commission on Elections.' He said he opposed any military coup because 'I don't agree with a politicised military'. Mrs Arroyo was unpopular 'because her detractors are effective in undermining her credibility. And the government has really failed to convince the public she's a good president,' he said.

It helps her cause that Mrs Arroyo has close ties with General Esperon, who said he not only 'admired' his chief, but had a 'crush' on her. Mrs Arroyo was one of the sponsors of General Esperon's wedding. The second factor is the weakness of Mrs Arroyo's enemies, who are not only disorganised but also have nothing to offer as a replacement.

William Esposo, a marketing specialist who helped build Mrs Arroyo's image 10 years ago but is now a staunch critic of hers, said he could never imagine bringing back Joseph Estrada. 'Between the two, I'd rather stay with Gloria.'

Her foes have repeatedly underestimated her. Apparently last week's plotters thought they needed to do nothing more than barricade themselves in a hotel and wait for 'people power' to erupt. For their trouble, they were assaulted, tear-gassed and dragged to detention.

Sheila Coronel, a journalist who has investigated coups and corruption, said of the president's foes: 'Their judgment is warped by their hatred of Gloria. I wish we had more political actors who can see clearly through their hatred.' In contrast, she noted, 'Gloria has managed to stay focused and clear-eyed, despite her hatred of those who hate her ... and that is why she's managed to survive.'

Mrs Arroyo has never been more resourceful and ruthless than when she's defending herself. She hasn't hesitated to tap dubious personalities, and has given largesse generously to supporters.

Mr Esposo said her political opponents 'never imagined she would cross so many lines', ignoring both the constitution and the Supreme Court when it suited her. 'She is the epitome of patronage politics, she has perfected the art of patronage,' he said.

A third factor that has helped her is the inertness of the millions of Filipinos who, six years ago, took to the streets to overthrow Estrada in a peaceful uprising. Not only is civil society divided over what to do, many people are tired of uprisings. Fearful of what an Arroyo ouster might produce, they'd rather give the democratic process a chance. Mr Abad said that 'as a country we have not been able to muster the unity we showed in ousting the Marcos dictatorship, in ousting Estrada ... it's every difficult to do that now.'

Although Mrs Arroyo has succeeded in hanging on, the downside is that a large amount of her administration's resources and talent is devoted to the goal of self-preservation.

'You are no longer talking about governance, about development, about being able to address basic problems,' said Mr Abad. 'You're talking about being able to survive.'