Sidebar:
Baguio Youth Jam vs. GMA

BY Angelica Campo
NORTHERN DISPATCH
Posted by Bulatlat

BAGUIO CITY – Two days after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo admitted that it was her voice in the wiretapped phone conversations, around 400 persons from Metro Baguio gathered for a mini concert initiated by youth groups at Malcolm Square, here last June 30. The concert was their way of demanding Macapagal-Arroyo’s ouster.

During the mini-concert, students from Baguio schools including the Saint Louis University (SLU), University of the Cordilleras (UC), Baguio Central University (BCU), Pines City Educational Center (PCEC), Easter College Incorporated (ECI), Benguet State University (BSU) and the University of the Philippines-Baguio (UPB) listened and watched various youth organizations perform songs and plays.  All the performances have a common theme: the ouster of GMA. 

The group also called for the formation of a local chapter of the broad youth alliance called Youth Demanding Arroyo’s Removal or Youth Dare.

The alliance will include the Progressive Igorots for Social Action (PIGSA), Artista ti Kordilyera para iti Wayawaya (ARKIW), Tanghalang Bayan ng Kabataan sa Baguio (TaBaK Baguio), National Union of Students of the Philippines-Baguio-Benguet (NUSP-BB), College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Baguio Benguet (CEGP-BB), Anak ng Bayan Youth Party, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines-Metro Baguio (SCMP-MB), League of Filipino Students (LFS), Anakbayan Metro-Baguio, Gabriela Youth, Sigma Kappa Pi-UP, Sigma Delta Pi-UP, Palaris Confraternity-UP, Democratic Action Party for the Youth-BCU (DAP-AY-BCU), SLU Debate Society, Alliance of Concerned Students-SLU and UP, and the Democratic Party for the Youth-UC (DAP-AY-UC).

Other progressive organizations such as LFS sold recordings of the Gloria-gate audio with various versions of the popular “Hello Garci” ring tone. 

The NUSP-BB who earlier led student protests agrees with the proposal of a transition council following GMA’s ouster.

Meanwhile, the Metro Baguio chapter of Anakabayan is holding a signature campaign against the fare hike and removal of student fare discount during weekends, holidays and summer vacation. These issues are some of the results of the steady increase of oil price which, they said, occurred under GMA’s administration.

Mass mobilizations, even from the outskirts of Metro Baguio grew stronger when the president denied rigging the May elections despite the wiretapped conversations. While Macapagal-Arroyo admitted it was her voice in the tapes, Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano’s whereabouts remains unknown. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat