Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume III, Number 50 January 25 - 31, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
On
the 3rd anniversary of People Power 2: Militants
who helped sweep Joseph Estrada out of power and install Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
into the presidency marched toward Edsa Shrine to mark the third anniversary of
People Power 2 Jan. 20. Blocked by contingents of police, they rallied in front
of Camp Aguinaldo to decry the growing fascism and militarization under the
present administration. By
Alexander Martin Remollino
Teddy
Casiño, newly-selected party-list nominee of the progressive Bayan Muna,
addressing the defense establishment, said: “If human rights violations do not
stop, you will not be able to prevent our comrades from joining the New
People’s Army.” The
voice of Irein Cuasay, secretary-general of Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, was
trembling with rage as she asked: “Why are you killing our comrades?” Cuasay
also made “special mention” of Brig. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jr. “Bring
Palparan to us!” Cuasay challenged the AFP. “Do not hide under GMA’s
skirt!” she added, addressing herself to Palparan. Palparan,
who has recently been assigned to join the peacekeeping force in Iraq, has been
accused as the main perpetrator of human rights violations in Oriental Mindoro,
where he used to be commanding officer of government troops. Last year, Palparan
was promoted while under investigation for his role in the abduction-killing of
human rights leader Eden Marcellana and peasant leader Eddie Gumanoy. Marcellana
and Gumanoy were leading a fact-finding tasked with investigating human rights
violations in the province. Based
on reports by human rights groups, Mindoro has become a killing fields of sorts
under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. More than 30 civilians, most of them
organizers of Bayan Muna, have been killed by government troops in the past
three years in Mindoro. The military has often claimed that they were members of
the New People’s Army killed in “legitimate” encounters. Recently,
military operations have been driving peasants and Mangyans out of their
communities in the Mindoro provinces. More
than 140 persons have been summarily killed under the Macapagal-Arroyo
administration, most of them critics of government policies. Forty of them were
members of Bayan Muna, while 10 were human rights workers. There
are also more than 300 political prisoners under the present administration. Anniversary rally
The
indignation rally in front of Camp Aguinaldo was part of a mobilization
commemorating the third anniversary of the People Power 2 uprising. At
mid-morning that day, various groups under the banner of Bagong Alyansang
Makabayan (Bayan) and Bayan Muna had massed up in Cubao, intending to attend the
noon mass at Edsa Shrine. They were however blocked by police in front of Camp
Crame. Attempts at negotiation were in vain, even as Casiño stressed that there
was an open invitation for people’s organizations to attend the noon mass at
Edsa. "It
was in commemoration of the People Power uprising,” Casiño said of the Edsa
Shrine celebration, “but unfortunately, the people were not there.” Meanwhile,
church people from Kairos Philippines and the Promotion of Church People’s
Response (PCPR) also tried to attend the mass at Edsa shrine, but were blocked
by police in front of the Securities and Exchange Commission building. They
later decided to join the crowd at Camp Crame. “We
are very angry. We are disappointed. GMA has betrayed the spirit of EDSA and she
has lied to us,” said Fr. Allan Arcebuche, PCPR spokesperson. He
decried the fact that even religious groups were prevented from joining the Edsa
Shrine celebration. “We didn't come to make trouble,” he said. “Those
inside the Edsa Shrine know that.” “Tagumpay
ang Edsa, bigo kay Gloria! (Edsa succeeded, with Gloria we’re
frustrated)” was the marchers’ rallying slogan. Among the speakers at the rally were Casiño, Apolinario Alvarez, newly-selected party-list nominee of the Anak ng Bayan Youth Party; Amira Lidasan of the Suara Bangsamoro Party, Liza Maza, former Bayan Muna representative and presently a party-list nominee of the Gabriela Women’s Party; and Carmen Deunida, newly-selected party-list nominee of Anakpawis. “Treachery”
The
marchers demanded the “disqualification” of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
from the presidential race. “Three years of treachery is enough,” Casiño
said. Casiño
criticized the failure of the Macapagal-Arroyo government to deliver on its
promises of good governance. “They have the obligation to deliver on the
promises of Edsa,” he said. The
People Power 2 uprising, which had its beginnings in mass campaigns for
people’s issues and human rights in 1998, largely gravitated around the issue
of corruption and plunder. Under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration however the
Philippines came to be ranked as Asia’s second most corrupt country, based on
a 2003 study by the anti-corruption group Transparency International. The
rally was a litany of grievances by various sectors against the incumbent
president. The
speakers were united in saying that Macapagal-Arroyo is a servant of U.S.
interests like her predecessor. Deunida
decried the acute lack of social services for the poor. It was also one of the
issues carried forward in the anti-Estrada protests of 1999-2001, in which
Deunida attained national prominence as an urban poor leader. “If
Erap is sin verguenza, Gloria is not only sin verguenza; she is
also mujer ingrata!” Deunida cried. Lidasan
drew parallelisms between Estrada’s all-out war against the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front, which hit several Muslim communities, and the Arroyo
administration’s military campaign in Mindanao. She said that the Muslim
population in the Philippines is experiencing a sense of outrage similar to what
it felt during the Estrada regime. “The
Bangsamoro remain in solidarity with other sectors of the Filipino people,”
Lidasan said, “whether in the hills, in the streets, or in Congress!” Alvarez
noted that the youth were among the most active in the campaign to oust Estrada,
yet have not benefited from the Macapagal-Arroyo regime in any manner. Data
compiled by the office of Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo reveal a continuous
decrease in the budget for education under the incumbent administration. Youth
groups have also been targeted by human rights violations, with campus
publications coming under censorship and other youth activists experiencing
harassment. Late last year, four organizers of the Anak ng Bayan Youth Party
were killed by government troops in Maco, Compostela Valley. Build-upThe build-up for the Jan. 20 rally had begun days before. On
Jan. 16, known personalities of the People Power 2 uprising gathered for a
dinner at La Salle Greenhills School to commemorate the walk-out from the
impeachment trial of former President Estrada and the noise barrage and prayer
rally that followed exactly three years before. On
Jan. 16, 2001, Estrada had been in trial before an impeachment court for weeks
for bribery, graft and corrupt practices, betrayal of the public trust, and
culpable violation of the Constitution. The trial was sabotaged through a
maneuver by his allies in the impeachment court, resulting in four days of broad
protest at Edsa that culminated in a march to Mendiola and his subsequent
ouster. Among
the personalities at the La Salle Greenhills dinner was Jose “Linggoy”
Alcuaz, who launched the Silent Protest Movement in 1999. The first non-Left
formation to call for Estrada’s ouster, the Silent Protest Movement
distributed stickers with inverted exclamation points, which became widely
popular. At the La Salle Greenhills dinner, Alcuaz distributed stickers bearing
Macapagal-Arroyo’s initials (GMA) and inverted question marks, which became a
hit among those who attended the event. Three days later, youth groups sponsored a reunion of young “veterans” of People Power 2 at Balay Kalinaw, University of the Philippines. Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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