Tens of thousands demand truth, join calls to oust Arroyo regime

In a convincing display of “people power” reminiscent of two previous mass uprisings that led to the ouster of two Philippine presidents, tens of thousands of protesters massed up on 29 February in Makati City, the Philippines’ financial district, to send a strong message to the murderous and corrupt Arroyo regime that its days are numbered.

The protest action dubbed as an “interfaith rally for truth”, was held to demand the truth from the latest corruption scandal involving illegitimate president Gloria Arroyo and to ask for her resignation. First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, together with other top government officials, reportedly demanded up to US$130 million in commissions in exchange for granting the National Broadband Network (NBN) project contract to China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation (ZTE). The project was eventually shelved after news broke out about the anomalous deal, but it had not prevented the mounting protests and seething anger of the whole nation.

A cross-section of Philippine society totaling more than 50,000 converged on 29 February to demand the truth and to push for the ouster or resignation of Arroyo. Participants in the rally included workers, peasant groups, youth and students, women, businessmen, middle and upper class housewives, urban poor, church and religious groups, migrants and their relatives, artists and the political opposition including two former Philippine presidents.

Militant groups estimated the number at 75,000, while the political opposition gave an even higher estimate. It was, according to analysts, larger than expected. Youth and students from many colleges and universities composed the main bulk of the protesters.

Speakers at the rally lambasted the Arroyo regime for its corruption, and its other crimes against the people, including the extrajudicial killings and disappearances of opposition activists. And as with the previous displays of “people power”, protesters came out with their creative expressions of fighting slogans and demands. Militant groups carried a large streamer that says “Goodbye Gloria”. A Catholic nun carried a placard that says “What is evil, is evil. Period”. “Gloria, most corrupt president” says another placard, while a dog was seen with a poster on its back that says “Ow-ow-Oust Gloria!”

The resounding demand and call however was: Oust Gloria!

Ever-fearful of the fate suffered by her predecessor who was ousted by “people power”, Gloria Arroyo sought refuge at a military camp in Quezon City.

Even before this mammoth gathering, military and police loyalists of Gloria acted desperately to prevent a groundswell of people massing-up. They fed media with worn-out alleged reports of possible infiltration of the rally by the New People’s Army or by supposed terrorists. They set up blockades and checkpoints around Metro Manila to prevent rallyists from the provinces from joining the Makati protesters. They further prevented media from taking aerial shots from helicopters of the massive protest by declaring the area a “no-fly zone”.

In an official statement, Bayan (New Patriotic Alliance) said that the Makati mobilization sends a very strong message to Malacañang and other institutions of the government that the Filipino people seriously and urgently demand for truth, justice, and meaningful changes in the leadership and system of governance amid the latest political crisis that has been rocking the Arroyo regime.

Professor Jose Ma. Sison, Chief Political Consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), in a statement on 01 March stressed that “the fake president and her retinue of bureaucratic sycophants and military bully boys should be able to read the handwriting on the wall. They have been weighed and grievously found wanting. Their days are numbered. Their doom is in the horizon.”

As Gloria Arroyo presses all her panic buttons, so to speak, the people and the organized forces are bracing for bigger mobilizations and more creative expressions of protest to force the ouster of Gloria Arroyo.

Militant migrant organizations, representing about 10 million overseas Filipinos forced to live and work abroad because of the corruption, brutality, poverty, unemployment and backwardness of Philippine society, have called for the withholding of remittances at least once a month. The remittances of migrant Filipinos help sustain the bankrupt Philippine economy and bureaucracy. Migrant Filipinos send US$30 million in remittances daily.

Meanwhile, protest rallies by Filipino migrants and foreign allies around the world were also held to show solidarity with the calls being made in the Philippines for the ouster of the Arroyo regime. In Australia and Hong Kong, migrant Filipinos and human rights advocates not only called for the ouster of the Arroyo regime but also called for “Zero Remittance Day” on 8 March. They condemned the plundering of their hard-earned money to prop-up Arroyo’s corruption-riddled government.

Rallies were also held in the cities of New York, New Jersey, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the United States, in Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, and in Amsterdam in The Netherlands. They demanded that Arroyo be held accountable for her many crimes against the Filipino people, including massive corruption and grave violations of human rights.

Danielle Galan, president of Anakbayan New York said that “corruption is a disease that robs Filipinos of a promising future. It is the same reason why our parents and fellow Filipino youth left the country to search for better lives abroad. Those who engage in it must answer to the nation’s call for accountability.”