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Tuesday, July 29, 2003
State of nation 'deplorable', militants say
THOUSANDS of militant group members in Mindanao gave their own state of the nation report Monday, saying the situation in the country is "deplorable and miserable," as 80 percent of Filipinos still wallow in poverty.
Monday's protest at the Rizal Park in Davao City was one of many similar actions nationwide held to coincide with President Arroyo's state of the nation address (Sona) to Congress.
Protesters in Cebu said they did not support the rebellion of some 300 junior military officers on Sunday but want Arroyo, nevertheless, to address the "legitimate" demands of the soldiers and other sectors.
In Manila, some 5,000 militants marched toward Congress, where Arroyo was delivering her report to the nation Monday afternoon, but were stopped near the Ever-Gotesco Mall by 2,000 anti-riot policemen.
But there were no reports of violence since police said they complied with Arroyo's call for "maximum tolerance".
Militants in Baguio City called on Arroyo to stop the persecutions of members of their groups wrongfully tagged by the police and military as having links with the communist New People's Army (NPA).
Tension between anti-riot police and some 700 protesters in General Santos flared briefly when law enforcers prevented militants massing near the bridge in Apopong from joining the march-rally in the city center.
Red flags, slogans
Carrying red flags and shouting anti-government slogans, protesters in Manila, led by the militant Bayan movement, burned a huge effigy of President Arroyo, who they accused of failing to deliver on promises to rid government of corruption after she was swept to power by a military-backed popular revolt in 2001.
Militant group Gabriela did its own version of the popular ditty "Spaghetti Song" to portray the worsening condition of the nation.
Traffic was snarled along the national highway leading to the House of Representatives building in northern Manila.
The protesters also called on Arroyo not to contest the 2004 presidential election.
Although Arroyo has repeatedly said she will not be running for president in 2004, it is widely believed she will change her mind and seek a second term.
Anak Pawis members led protesters in chanting "Takbo, Gloria, takbo paalis ng Malacañang." (Run, Gloria, run out of Malacañang.)
Bayan leader Teodoro Casino said Arroyo "is seriously mistaken if she views her hollow victory over her own troops as a preview of a highly-improbable triumph in 2004," referring to the 22-hour mutiny in Makati City by rogue junior military officers.
"The putsch may be over, but we are still mired in the highest unemployment rate in Asia, one of the highest electric power rates in the region, growing inflation and the plummeting peso," he said.
Land reform not genuine
Leaders of militant groups Bayan Muna and Sanlakas in Cebu also urged Arroyo to step down from the presidency since she failed to adhere to the call of the people during the Edsa II.
"Those who gathered during the People Power II were the same people who put her to power but sadly, President Arroyo failed us," said Paul Rodriguez of Bayan Muna.
According to Rodriguez, there is still "no genuine land reform" and "salaries of our workers" are still low. The low pay is also among the gripes of Sunday's mutineers in Makati Cit.
Several militant and cause-oriented groups gathered during a rally at Colon St. shortly before Arroyo delivered her state of the nation report Monday afternoon.
Showing their disappointment with the Arroyo administration, members of militant groups burned a mascot of Arroyo holding the key points of her 2002 state of the nation address, which, they said, did not materialize.
Political repression
Students, farmer-peasant leaders, human right and peace advocates from AnakBayan, Bayan Muna, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Kilusang Mayo Uno and the Farmers Alliance of Davao City collectively denounced Arroyo and called on her to end political repression, state terrorism, and US intervention in the country's affairs.
Dr. Shalom Lorenzana, Regional Coordinator of Bayan Muna told Sun.Star the real state of the nation "is deplorable and miserable," as 80 percent of the total Filipinos are still wallowing in poverty.
Lorenzana said the country ranks eighth among the nations in the Pacific region with the highest tuberculosis morbidity and mortality rate.
More than 60 percent of Filipinos from age 0 to 6 are also malnourished, he added.
Gamut of issues
In Baguio, groups urged Arroyo to order the release of political prisoners now languishing in various detention cells for crimes they did not commit.
Around 300 militant groups from various sectors marched down Session Road before Monday noon and delivered their own state of the nation report for the Cordillera Administrative Region and rest of the country.
Foremost among the issues raised is the persecution of militant group members, the latest being the murder of two militant leaders in Mindoro Island. The group blamed the military for the crime.
They noted that at least 32 Bayan Muna members had been killed by the military, police and their agents since last year. Tala, the official publication of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, linked Bayan Muna to the communist group.
The groups also cited the abduction of two female human rights researchers, Evelyn Bedana and Josephine Perez. They are accused by the military of holding top positions in the underground movement.
They also raised gamut of issues hounding the more or less one million indigenous peoples in the Cordilleras like unemployment, labor and wages issues, displacement from their ancestral lands and domains and attendant militarization in the remote villages of the region.
No-election ploy
Protesters in General Santos did not have a permit to rally but went on to hold their protest action.
Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. said last week he will not allow any group to hold a rally in the city if it does not have a permit to do so.
Majority of the protesters are workers at the Dole Philippines (Dolefil) Inc.
They were allowed to proceed to the city center after several minutes of negotiations between their leaders and the police.
City police chief Jeorge Aquisap told a radio station here Monday he would not order the dispersal of the protesters for as long as they hold their rally peacefully.
In front of the Carlos Garcia Park, protesters mounted a makeshift platform and took turns denouncing the Arroyo administration.
In a statement they distributed Monday, the militants claimed the failed uprising of soldiers over the weekend was part of the "no-election ploy" hatched by some members of the Arroyo administration.
They also blamed the Arroyo administration for the series of bombings in Central Mindanao. "Despite the billions in intelligence fund, the Arroyo government has failed to stop the terrorists from attacking innocent civilians," Bayan said.
(July 29, 2003 issue)
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