Students to Walk Out of Their Classes to Fight Cha-Cha

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Students from all over the country are set to walk out of their classrooms tomorrow, July 10, to protest the moves by the Arroyo regime to amend the Constitution.

The national walkout-protest against charter-change will be led by Kabataan Partylist and the Kabataan Kontra Cha-Cha and to be participated in by various student groups across the Philippines.

Alvin Peters, president of the National Union of Students in the Philippines, said the students will show their outrage over the railroading of House Bill 1109 that would amend the constitution through constituent assembly.

Peters said HB 1109 and the matter it was passed in Congress last month enlightened the Filipino youths.

“I do not believe what the pessimistic political analysts are saying about ‘People Power fatigue.’ I think that the recent actions of the government have accumulated to the point that the youth can no longer stomach them,” Peters told Bulatlat.

Peters said private schools such as Dela Salle University and St. Scholastica’s College were very active in holding forums and assemblies regarding the state of the country.

The students, he said, “are becoming more comfortable to take it outside, in the streets. They realized that aside from holding various forums, there is also a need to go out of their comfort zones and participate in the collective effort to stop charter change and eventually oust President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.”

Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatino believes that the consistent stand of the religious sector against charter change has made school administrators of private schools loosen their policies to allow activities against charter change to take place inside their schools and even encouraged their students to join street protests.

Terry Ridon, convenor of Law Students Kontra Cha-Cha and spokesman of the League of Filipino Students, said in a statement that the recent bombings may be used as an excuse by the Arroyo government to suppress the growing opposition against charter change. “If there is anyone that would benefit from the bombings and security threats flying around the metro, it would only be Mrs. Arroyo and her cha-cha machine,” Ridon said.

Palatino urged the student to be brave enough to fight cha-cha. “We condemn the bombings but it should not prevent the students to mobilize,” he said.

Peters said different forms of protests will be take place on Friday. There would be large gatherings of youths in their respective plazas while others are going to have class walk outs. There would also be a torch rally in Iloilo city. (Bulatlat.com)