This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 22, July 10-16, 2005
People’s Action to Decide
GMA’s Fate
The calls
of various sectors and classes for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign
have widened the rift between the ruling elite and have hastened her impending
ouster. But militant groups say these will never be enough to kick out the
President from Malacañang without the people’s concerted action. BY
DABET CASTAÑEDA With President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo desperately clinging on to the palace seat, militant groups
this week said no amount of resignation calls from former allies and influential
leaders would be enough to kick her out of Malacañang. Instead, said Renato Reyes,
secretary general of the nationwide sectoral group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan,
New Patriotic Alliance), “the people’s action would decide Macapagal-Arroyo’s
fate.” He said that the Filipino people today do not limit themselves to
constitutional means in resolving the impasse. “People power becomes
justified if it becomes necessary,” he added. Bayan is set to lead a
mammoth rally on July 13 in the country’s financial capital, Makati City, along
with the anti-Arroyo opposition parties, Bangon Pilipinas, supporters of
presidential aspirant Fernando Poe, Jr. and other political forces. Major urban centers across
the country are also expected to hold mass actions to press for the president’s
removal, it was learned. Farmers belonging to the
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines)
from Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Eastern Visayas and other regions
will cease farm production starting July 11. They will join a caravan that would
culminate in the big rally in Makati. Protesters aboard 200
vehicles coming from the regions are expected to add to at least 50,000 rallyers
on that day. Meanwhile, Maita Santiago,
Migrante International secretary general, said that July 13 will be a global
protest as thousands of overseas Filipino workers will also hold their own
rallies in as many countries. The OFW protests will be led by the newly-formed
group Outrage, a broad alliance of migrant workers, families and advocates
calling for the president’s resignation. Fractured
elite The beleaguered President
announced via a taped radio broadcast July 8, 6 p.m. that she is not resigning
her post even after 10 of her cabinet officials publicly announced their
resignation in a press conference that morning at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in
Manila. They have called on the President to resign as well. The cabinet resignation
that included the president’s economic team – Cesar Purisima (Finance), Emilia
Boncodin (Budget), Juan Santos (Trade) and Guillermo Parayno (Internal Revenue)
– made way for the business community led by the Makati Business Club (MBC) to
call for the President’s resignation. Later at noon, the Liberal Party led by Senate President Franklin Drilon also expressed
its call for Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation. The pivotal move that same
day was the press conference of former President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino
calling for Macapagal-Arroyo to do a “supreme sacrifice” by tendering her
immediate resignation. The influential Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is set to announce its position
early this week. But the calls of the groups
and individuals only proposed nothing more than a constitutional succession that
would mean having Vice President Noli de Castro as the country’s next president. However, Bayan’s Reyes said
this move would make the impression that the ouster of Macapagal-Arroyo is only
an “affair of the elite” and is only poised to “defuse mass actions.”
Transition council Bayan Muna (BM – people
first) Rep. Teodoro Casiño, in a press conference at noon on the same day, said
that after Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation or ouster, it will no longer be
“business as usual of replacing the president and everything else remains the
same.” Instead, he said, there
will be a council which will consist of representatives of the basic sectors of
workers and peasants, the anti-Arroyo opposition, church, academe, professionals
and retired military and police officers who uphold civilian supremacy.
This will lead to the
transition government to institute the necessary reforms, said Casiño.
The BM party-list
congressman said that constitutional successor Noli de Castro may or may not be
included in the council or may retain his position, but the leadership will
remain with the
transition council.
Casiño said the council is important as they see that “by himself (de Castro),
he cannot institute changes in the system.” Gabriela Women’s Party Liza
Maza, however, said that de Castro should first withdraw his support to the
president. Meanwhile, the board of
directors of the independent think tank Ibon Foundation issued a statement on
July 8 that a “representative governing council” that will replace Macapagal-Arroyo
must ensure the democratic participation of the majority classes and sectors in
the country. “Installing another
politician will not make a difference and will only worsen the political
instability and economic crisis,” the Ibon statement said. People’s
agenda In a statement, BM’s
National Executive Council said that the council “should pursue political,
economic and social reforms demanded by the people, especially the exploited and
oppressed sectors of society." Erosion of middle
forces’ support The last few days had seen
a steady erosion of support for Macapagal-Arroyo from the middle forces – a
sector whose broadest participation, analysts say, is crucial for the success of
popular uprisings aiming to oust a President. Over the last weekend, De
La Salle University (DLSU) – one of the most influential Catholic schools – came
out publicly with a statement calling on Macapagal-Arroyo to resign. The DLSU call was followed
by an online petition initiated by the mostly Manila-based poets’ group
Kilometer 64 calling for Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation or ouster and the
formation of a transition council that would undertake a number of reforms
beyond what it called “a mere regime change.” The
petition assails Macapagal-Arroyo
for what it described as her administration’s repeated violation of the freedom
of expression – ranging from the banning of socially relevant films to the
gagging of media and the cultural sector and the giving of national award to “self-appointed
literary mentors who have made a living out of discouraging novice writers from
taking the path of social concern.” It also assails what it calls the Macapagal-Arroyo
administration’s attempt “to conscript” writers and other cultural workers for
an anti-corruption campaign which it descriubed as “hypocritical.” As of July 9,
10:28 a.m. Philippine time, the petition has gathered 130 signatures. Among the
signatories are poet-journalist Richard Gappi, U.S.-based poet and literary
scholar E. San Juan, Jr., poet and playwright Joi Barrios, poet John Enrico
Torralba, poet and literary critic Gelacio Guillermo, art critic Alice
Guillermo, literary critic Elmer Ordoñez, poet Roberto Ofanda Umil, U.S.-based
novelist Ninotchka Rosca, journalist Nonoy Espina, songwriter and singer Lei
Garcia, and poet Aida Santos. Over the week,
the student council of the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, its
national-language student publication Matanglawin; the Assembly, an
organization of Political Science students in the same university, and a group
of concerned faculty and staff of the university issued their own statements
calling on Macapagal-Arroyo to resign. The Ateneo is also among the country’s
most influential Catholic schools. At the
Dominican-administered University of Santo Tomas (UST), the broad-based Alliance
of Concerned Thomasians and the local chapter of the Alliance of Law Students
for the Advancement of Nationalism have also called on Macapagal-Arroyo to step
down. So have a number of student organizations in Catholic schools St. Paul’s
College-Manila, Adamson University, and San Beda College, as well as in
Protestant schools Philippine Christian University (PCU) and Trinity College. From the
country’s movie industry, the Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng Pelikulang Pilipino (NMPP
or United Filipino Film Workers) has also registered opposition to Macapagal-Arroyo’s
continued presidency. Representing the NMPP in a July 5 press conference
organized by the broad-based National Coalition for the Protection of Workers’
Rights (NCPWR) were directors Joel Lamangan, Carlitos Siguion Reyna, Emmanuel
Borlaza, and Mel Chinglo; talent managers Douglas Quijano and Soxy Topacio, and
actor Richard Gomez. The succession of
events led to anti-Arroyo rallies at the Liwasang Bonifacio (Bonifacio Plaza) in
Manila on July 7. The successive withdrawals of support for Macapagal-Arroyo by
the 10 Cabinet members, Aquino, and the MBC were followed by the rally of Bayan
activists and FPJ supporters on Ayala Avenue, as well as a prayer assembly by
the Bangon Pilipinas (Arise Philippines) National Renewal Movement led by
evangelist Eddie Villanueva, who also ran for President last year. Tricks Meanwhile, Jose
Maria Sison, chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDFP), presented in a statement sent to media the courses of action
that Macapagal-Arroyo may take in view of what he called the “disintegration” of
the current regime. “One
is to take a leave of absence and have the vice-president Noli de Castro perform
the functions of the presidency,” he said. “Another is for her to become the
‘caretaker president,’ who will follow a script prepared by former president
Fidel V. Ramos, Speaker Jose de Venecia and some smart guys of Lakas-NUCD.” “The script entrusts the
‘caretaker president’ with the task of letting a ‘high commission’ to go through
the motion of investigating some corruption scandals, the two houses of Congress
to become a constituent assembly that will make constitutional amendments for
satisfying the US and the local exploiting classes and for adopting a federal
and parliamentary system and the parliamentary elections to take place in 2006,”
the exiled revolutionary leader added. He warned the broad united
front against Macapagal-Arroyo “not to be complacent” and to be more resolute
and militant than ever in arousing and mobilizing the people in their millions.
© 2004 Bulatlat
■
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Mammoth rally
set on July 13
Bulatlat
Among the most urgent tasks of the council Bayan Muna enumerated were: "1) the
conduct of full and thorough investigation into the involvement and culpability
of the former President Arroyo, Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio
Garcilliano, military officials and others involved in fraud and deceit in the
2004 elections; 2) Prosecute cases of graft and corruption involving the First
Family and other government officials in all levels; 3) put in place meaningful
electoral and political reforms; 4) render justice and indemnify victims of
human rights violations and ensure the respect and protection of civil
liberties; 5) resume the peace process with Muslim and Communist revolutionary
groups by fulfilling all existing agreements; 6) solve the fiscal criss by
canceling or repudiating the country's odious and onerous debts; 7) protect the
country from the ravages of free market globalization and reversing the
disastrous
structural adjustment programs imposed by the country's foreign creditors.”