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Monday, March 03, 2008
Critics to hold more protests v. Arroyo
MANILA -- Anti-Arroyo groups are readying more rallies not only in Metro Manila but also in other areas of the country in the wake of last Friday's interfaith rally in Makati that organizers said 70,000 people attended.
United Opposition (UNO) spokesman Adel Tamano said more rallies and mass actions will be held to press the campaign for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's resignation and for the "truth" to come out in the botched US$329 million national broadband network (NBN) contract with China's ZTE Corporation.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
He expressed confidence that more people will participate in protests and other similar expression of discontent against the Arroyo administration in the next few days, saying that momentum is now on the side of those pressing for "truth and justice."
Tamano cited the growing numbers of those who take part in a series of protests that started last February 15 when the opposition, civil society, militant groups, and even the religious sector mounted the first rally also in Makati where organizers said up to 15,000 people showed up.
Aside from the Makati rally last Friday, similar gatherings took place in the cities of Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Baguio, Dagupan, Naga, Legazpi, Sorsogon and even in the President's home province in Pampanga where rallyists staged a picket at the Arroyos' ancestral home in the town of Lubao.
Prior to last Friday's interfaith rally, rumors circulated that the military will withdraw its support from the administration once rallyists reach one million, although military leaders denied the reports.
Tamano said what tipped the balance in favor of the rallyists were the increasing number of youths, particularly from the student sector, who are joining the protests.
Students from the University of the Philippines (UP), De La Salle, Ateneo, University of Sto. Tomas (UST), Adamson, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), and Philippine Christian University joined hands with their counterparts from other schools in Metro Manila and nearby provinces during Friday's rally.
Last Sunday, a group of students assembled at the UP campus in Quezon City for a "walk-a-thon for truth" in support of Rodolfo Lozada, the key witness in the Senate hearing on the NBN scandal.
The walk-a-thon was one of several follow-up activities after an interfaith rally attended by students, militants, and opposition members in Makati City last Friday.
At UST in Manila, students held a mass inside the campus in support of the NBN witness.
Lozada, who is also an alumnus of the university having graduated in 1984 with a degree in electronics and communications engineering, said the mass was a homecoming for him. He was the recipient of the UST Faculty of Engineering's Centennial Award for alumni last year.
Lozada, in his speech, also thanked the people who helped and supported him since he revealed anomalies in the NBN project.
He likewise appealed to the people to accompany him in the fight for truth.
"Please accompany me in this journey that I'm taking. Accompany me until this is all over," he told the people during the mass.
Aside from Lozada, former President Corazon Aquino, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, and representatives of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (Ceap) and the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) also attended the mass.
Arroyo critics set the next rally against the President this March 8 to coincide with the celebration of the International Women's Day, which will be spearheaded by Gabriela and other women's group.
Meanwhile, Tamano appealed for understanding to civil society groups that "walked out" of last Friday's interfaith rally in Makati when former presidents Corazon Aquino and Joseph Estrada spoke on stage.
He said there was indeed a "slight confusion" when Aquino and Estrada mounted the makeshift stage put up for the interfaith rally, but added this was cleared up with those who have earlier objected to the presence of the two and the other politicians.
Several members of civil society groups Black and White Movement (BWM) and Council for Philippines Affairs (Copa) thought it was time to leave when the political personalities started making their speeches.
UNO president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay was the first politician to speak during the rally followed by Aquino and Estrada.
Tamano said they understand the sentiments of civil society members who do not like Estrada, but they should also understand other participants, especially those coming from the poorer class who wanted to hear even for a brief period what the ousted leader would say. (AH/FP/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (March 3, 2008 issue)
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