President Arroyo has placed 44th in the list of the 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes Magazine.

The President, in the last year of her term, dropped from 41st in the magazine’s 2008 ranking of the women who continue to scale heights of control and influence.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the list for the second year in a row, followed by Sheila Blair, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The chief executives of Pepsi, Anglo American, Temasek, Kraft Foods, WellPoint, and Areva also remained in the top 10. US First Lady Michelle Obama debuted at No. 40, coming in ahead of talk show host Oprah Winfrey at 41.

Forbes noted that the women on its most powerful list are "moving across companies and industries, making big leaps with each change, and repositioning themselves for opportunities that allow them to gain a breadth of experience.”

The business magazine said President Arroyo’s position as Southeast Asia's first leader to meet US President Barack Obama II was “a boon to an otherwise lame-duck presidency." “Arroyo's tumultuous six-year term ends with new elections in May 2010," it said

The President’s profile in the magazine also noted a "potential power grab in the works," referring to plans of congressional allies to rewrite the Constitution and shift to a parliamentary form of government.

”Congressional allies are pushing through changes to the Constitution that would see the Philippines adopt a parliamentary system; then Arroyo could get around the presidential term limit by becoming prime minister. Critics contend this may further sink the stalling economy that earlier in the year hit a 10-year-low GDP growth of 0.4%," the magazine read.

Malacanang meantime is pleased with the President’s 44th position at the Forbes list of the world’s powerful women despite the decline in rankin.

“It’s not a decline. The mere fact that she’s there is a big deal,” Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. told reporters in the Palace.

“To be in the same company of these kinds of leaders is a big deal, is something to be proud of,” he added.

Andaya said the President has grown to become a powerful leader due to her work ethics as well as her sound economic policies.