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Sunday, March 09, 2008
Women's Day protesters demand Arroyo's ouster
MANILA -- Hundreds of female left-wing activists celebrated International Women's Day with a march to Malacañang Saturday to demand the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for alleged corruption.
But Malacañang, in response, told women's group to watch their language and be good examples to their children instead of calling the President's ouster.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
Police, using steel fences wrapped with barbed wire, blocked the protesters on a bridge close to Malacañang in central Manila.
The marchers carried red and purple banners saying "Oust Gloria" and chanted "Gloria, out now" as they tried to cross the historic bridge, scene of many violent confrontations between police and protesters since the Martial Law regime of the late Ferdinand Marcos.
The festive rally, punctuated by protest songs and anti-Arroyo slogans, ended with the burning of an effigy of the President, who was depicted as a thief carrying a bag full of money.
"We are calling on President Arroyo to resign and we are also calling on the people, especially the women, to unite and join this movement for change in our leadership," said Representative Liza Maza of the left-wing women's party, Gabriela.
Malacañang on Saturday told women's group to mind their language instead of calling for President Arroyo's ouster over graft issues.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said Arroyo is also a woman and also gets hurt, even as she stressed women serve as models to children and to the country.
"President Arroyo is a woman like them. They should be more discerning and calm. They should remember a mother is the one being followed in the house. We should be careful with what we say, we serve as role model to our children so we have a responsibility to our children and to the country," Fajardo said.
She particularly aimed her "appeal" at Gabriela.
Gabriela claimed that while Arroyo is a woman, she has not been a good example to the nation because of her alleged involvement in several graft-ridden scandals.
"We should be calm, instead of hurling painful barbs at the President," Fajardo said. "We expect women of our country to lead us to the right path, so we ask Gabriela to be careful with their language."
Saturday's march was the latest in a series of protests triggered by allegations of bribery in a US$329 million government broadband contract with China's telecommunications giant ZTE Corp.
Former consultants have testified in Senate hearings that Arroyo, her husband, and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. benefited from huge kickbacks linked to the broadband project.
The scandal forced Arroyo to cancel the contract last year, but the opposition-dominated Senate is continuing an investigation into the deal.
Arroyo's husband and the resigned elections chief have denied any wrongdoing, while presidential spokesmen have dismissed the charges as hearsay.
In her seven years in power, Arroyo has survived four attempted power grabs and three opposition impeachment bids over alleged corruption and vote rigging.
Analysts have attributed her staying power to the refusal of the powerful military and the Catholic Church to join calls for her ouster. Those institutions played key roles in the revolts that ousted Marcos in 1986 and Arroyo's predecessor, Joseph Estrada, in 2001. (AP/With JMR/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (March 9, 2008 issue)
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