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Friday, February 29, 2008
Erap to join interfaith prayer rally
MANILA -- Former President Joseph Estrada will join Friday's interfaith rally at Makati's central business district as he reiterated anew his call for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign amid widespread allegations of corruption in her government.
Estrada said the United Opposition (UNO) has asked him to attend the rally and lead the people in the search for truth regarding the allegations of corruption against the President, her husband Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, and other high-ranking government officials in the multimillion-dollar National Broadband Network (NBN) contract.
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"All of us freedom-loving Filipinos want to get to the bottom of this controversy," said Estrada who attended late Thursday's Mass for Truth at the University of Makati (Umak) officiated by Bishop Teodoro Bacani.
Estrada is expected to march from the Makati Fire Station, which will serve as their staging area at 2 p.m. Friday along with other opposition personalities including his former Cabinet officials.
From there, Estrada will proceed to the Ninoy Aquino Monument at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo De Roxas Road where the rally will take place.
50,000 rallyists
Earlier, UNO president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said they are expecting about 50,000 rallyists to join the rally with the militant group Bayan promising to bring in about 20,000 protestors.
Estrada said that if he will not attend the interfaith rally, Filipinos might think he is not supporting their quest for the truth regarding the allegation against the government stressing that "he wholeheartedly supports the people's call for truth and justice."
But the former President said he would not appear on stage, saying it is the ordinary people who should take the lead in the mass action.
UNO spokesman Adel Tamano said Friday's rally will be like last February 15 protests in which no politician appeared on stage. He said the opposition supports the call of former President Corazon Aquino for Mrs. Arroyo to resign for the good of the country.
Cover-up
When asked how to describe the Arroyo regime, Estrada likened the present administration to a hardbound cover for the administration's supposed expertise in making cover-up every time graft and corruption reared an ugly head in her government.
President Arroyo has been hounded by calls for her resignation due to alleged corruption by her administration.
The latest allegations of corruption to hit Mrs. Arroyo involve accusations that her husband and a close political ally tried to get millions of pesos in kickbacks from an aborted NBN contract.
During the mass for truth, Estrada also called on Commission on Higher Education (Ched) chairman Romulo Neri to come out in the open and tell the public what he really knows about the NBN deal with China firm ZTE Corp.
He said the country has suffered so much, undergoing scandal after scandal since President Arroyo got into power in 2001.
"We have suffered enough from this administration for too long. Our country is being robbed not only by the millions but by the billions of pesos," said the ousted leader.
Free citizen
Malacañang said former President Estrada should not take too much liberty when he joins the interfaith rally.
Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said Estrada is entitled to join the prayer rally because he is now a free citizen.
"We welcome the exercise of his liberties," Golez said in a text message.
However, he reminded the former President that the exercise of his liberties are "not absolute and therefore must still be within the confines of our laws."
Golez also said the lawyers who are calling for the President's resignation should be the ones telling the people to adhere to due processes under the Constitution.
"They (lawyers) are fully aware that these institutions are already working towards the attainment of our goals and that the call for resignation will not even be relevant in search for the truth unless these groups are already misguided and influenced by political opportunists," Golez said.
Pray over
On the eve of a big interfaith rally against her administration, President Arroyo received a pray over from priests from her home province of Pampanga.
Monsignor Eugenio Mercado Jr. of the Lourdes Parish of Angeles City in Pampanga said around 40 of the more than 100 priests in Pampanga came to Malacañang "voluntarily" to pray for unity among Filipinos.
"The Pampanga clergy coming to Malacañang is to make a pray over to the President. That is the main objective. We pray for unity among Filipinos. We pray with the President and we pray for the President today," Mercado said.
"All of us need prayer, especially at this time, of course," he said.
The prelate said: "There are no political issues involved in the pray over." He said they occasionally pray over the President, and that they did the same thing last April 5 on her 60th birthday in Lubao, Pampanga.
Mercado said they have no stand on the calls for Arroyo to resign and even on the issues raised by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), adding that they went to Manila "mainly and purely for prayer."
"This is a group that is silent on issues. We come here to pray and nothing else," he said.
Unseen hands
Deputy presidential spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo warned participants in Friday's interfaith rally to be wary of the "unseen hands" and the "false prophets" who may use them to foment chaos in the country.
Fajardo said the rallyists, while gathered in the streets of Makati City, should heed the call of the CBCP for discernment and prayerful reflection.
"We must all be wary of the unseen hands that may be using the current situation to foment hatred, distrust and chaos in our society. We must heed the warning of the Holy Book of false prophets in our midst," Fajardo said.
She said while the rallyists enjoy the blessings of democracy, they must help protect it from "scheming" groups or individuals who are "bent on destroying our democratic way of life."
Peaceful rally
Despite the warning, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Avelino Razon Jr. said he is expecting a peaceful rally on Friday to be launched by various groups that are seeking the resignation of President Arroyo on corruption charges.
"Our assessment is that it is going to be peaceful and orderly but needless to say, the PNP (Philippine National Police) is taking action to prevent any untoward incident and has adopted measures to whatever plans the terrorists and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) have," said Razon.
However, the PNP chief said they have yet to ascertain which specific terrorist group is planning to sabotage the demonstrations in Makati City. Several terrorist groups are operating in the country, including the Abu Sayyaf Group, Rajah Solaiman Movement, and Jemaah Islamiyah.
When asked if the threat is serious, Razon said: "Not really. Appropriate preparations have been taken. Some quarters may say that we are taking this for granted so we will be on full alert status (starting Thursday night)," he said.
"We have reports that are coming out but they are subject to verification. There is still no indication that it (bombings) is going to happen," said Razon when pressed on the planned infiltration and bombing by the Abu Sayyaf.
5,000 policemen
According to reports, organizers of the demonstrations are expecting at least one million people to join the rally. The PNP is deploying at least 5,000 policemen to key areas in the metropolis to ensure that protests would be peaceful.
Armed Forces of the Philippines-National Capital Region Command (AFP-NCRcom) Chief Fernando Mesa, for his part, said threats from rightist groups are low. He said he has not come across intelligence information that soldiers will intervene in the political crisis.
"The threats from the rightists are so far very minimal," said Mesa, adding however that the NCR command would be on red alert status for the demonstrations.
He said at least 3,000 soldiers would be on standby inside their camp for any eventuality.
No good
Donald Dee, chairman emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), said participants in the interfaith rally should be more discerning of what is happening around them instead of joining the mass action. "It's not going to do anybody any good," he said.
Dee also said political rallies should not be held in the business district because of "security risks" even if organizers claimed that their protest would be held at 5 to 8 p.m. so as not to disrupt businesses. He said there are still circumstances that could not be controlled.
He said the Senate investigation should be given a timeframe and immediately concluded, and that cases should be filed against those were found to have committed wrongdoings.
He added that the statement of the CBCP defining "communal action" and refusing to call for President Arroyo's resignation has a "calming effect" on the tensed situation.
Dee said the business sector still supports President Arroyo "as long as she continues to do what is good for the country."
But the businessman said the NBN investigation must be concluded and that it must result in "positive action" such as the filing of a case against wrongdoers and the strengthening of the anti-corruption laws. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (February 29, 2008 issue)
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