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Saturday, July 16, 2005
Arroyo supporters hope to mobilize 200T for rally
MANILA -- Malacanang anticipates a massive weekend rally in support of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that would be bigger that the "people power" attempt protest of the opposition in Makati City Wednesday.
Pulling off a huge turnout could be crucial for Arroyo, who for the past six weeks has been trying to survive her worst political crisis.
Protests have been powerful tools in ousting Philippine presidents, and Arroyo needs to mobilize her own backers to show that a big chunk of the populace wants her to keep her job.
Organizers of the Saturday rally in Manila said they aim to draw 200,000 people--five times more than the 40,000 who joined Wednesday's anti-Arroyo demonstration in the capital's financial district. Saturday's event will be in spacious Rizal Park--where late Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in 1995.
Organizers include religious groups and local government leaders. They might be able to easily attract tens of thousands of people, including government workers who can be required to attend rallies.
"The weekend rally will be attended by peace-loving citizens who wish to see that constitutional processes are followed in resolving the raging political conflict diving the country, rather than resorting to extra-constitutional schemes that would lead to bigger problems," Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, an Arroyo ally, said in a statement.
Presidential Management Staff (PMS) head Rigoberto Tiglao said the rally is the initiative of the mayors of Metro Manila and other local political leaders.
"I would think there's a lot of goodwill and support for this administration. Let's see," Tiglao said.
But he said it was not yet sure if President Arroyo will attend the rally at the Quirino Grandstand.
Press secretary and presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye took potshots at the opposition's "mother of all rallies," saying it was "980,000 short" of their one million-target.
"Kung iyan lang ang kanilang ma-dye-generate ay talagang walang pagkakataon para ang street protest na maging sanhi ng pagbaba ng ating Pangulo (If that is what could only generate, then there is no chance for the street protests to be cause for the President to step down)," Bunye said.
Bunye said government will not stop Arroyo supporters from holding the rally but it has to be "peaceful, well-organized and properly marshaled."
But anti-Arroyo rallies showed no sign of abating.
In a separate protest, hundreds of left-wing activists chanting "Gloria, get out!" and "Oust Gloria!" tried to approach the presidential palace, but were stopped by police.
Some of the women protesters danced to the beat of drums while carrying brooms to "sweep" Arroyo out of office.
A survey by the respected pollster Social Weather Stations reported Friday that 62 percent of those surveyed said that Arroyo should resign. If she didn't quit, 85 percent said she should be impeached, the poll found.
The telephone survey, conducted July 12-14, included 579 adult respondents in metropolitan Manila and had a margin of error of four percentage points, the pollster said.
Arroyo's crisis erupted last month when wiretapped phone conversations had her talking to an election official before all the votes were counted in the May 2004 presidential election. She has denied manipulating the ballot count.
She has steadfastly resisted the opposition's calls to resign despite the mass resignation a week ago of 10 Cabinet members. But Arroyo has said she would be willing to face an impeachment trial, and the opposition suggested it was considering the option.
The former Cabinet members on Friday kept up the pressure on the president to step down.
"We now have a beleaguered President--a President who has irretrievably lost her ability to govern effectively," said Teresita Deles, who was in charge of peace process.
"In an environment where political expediency of staying in power is pre-eminent, the president is finding less and less time to focus on necessary governance and reform. The government's priorities are pushed aside to give way to the demands of day-to-day survival."
Appealing to Arroyo to resign, she said: "Let go of the presidency now before greater damage is done to our country and our people."
Coup rumors also have been swirling, and many take them seriously since the military played key roles in the "people power" protests that forced out late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and President Joseph Estrada in 2001.
On Thursday, Arroyo, the daughter of a former president, warned against any "unrest in the streets" and pledged to "stop any violence that threatens the rule of law." She said her detractors offered "a road that leads to nowhere." (AP/JMR/Sunnex)
(July 16, 2005 issue)
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