This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 23, July 17-23, 2005
Oust-Arroyo Movement
Gains Headway in Baguio-Benguet
The mass actions calling for
the President’s removal from office are not just confined to Metro Manila. Even
residents of Baguio City (246 kms north of Manila) have lent their voice to the
growing oust-Arroyo sentiments.
BY KIM QUITASON AND A.T.
BENGWAYAN BAGUIO CITY — A broad
alliance of organizations and individuals calling for the immediate resignation
of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo launched the Gloria Step Down Movement (GSM)
Baguio-Benguet last July 13 at the Mandarin Restaurant here. The GSM is composed of
representatives from the youth, women, gays and lesbians, church and
organizations of health workers, teachers, government employees together with
progressive people’s organizations and individuals. Youth Demanding Arroyo’s
Removal (Youth Dare) representative Jado Bongadon said President Arroyo should
resign now to fulfill her moral and political duty to the youth and to the
entire nation. Youth Dare is an alliance of youth and students from different
schools, communities and universities calling for the resignation and Arroyo’s
ouster. Bishop Juan Marigza of the
United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) and a convenor of GSM said
that UCCP issued a pastoral statement calling for Arroyo “to relinquish her post
right away.” He said that her confession is an acceptance of ineffectiveness to
lead the Filipino people towards a peaceful and united nation. “We assure forgiveness but
justice should be served,” he added. Marigza further questioned
the pronouncements of local officials expressing support to the president. He
said that the local officials failed to consult their constituency. He added
that the position of the local officials does not necessarily reflect the
position of the citizenry. Last July 12, Baguio Rep.
Mauricio Domogan, along with several local government officials, expressed his
support for Arroyo in a press conference. Meanwhile, the Regional
Development Council (RDC) decided to pass a resolution signifying its support to
Arroyo during their meeting on July 14 here. But Itogon Mayor Mario
Godio said during the deliberations on the resolution that some local government
heads are compelled to support the president because their towns are dependent
on the national budget and the internal revenue allotment (IRA). He added that
Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay could afford to call for the Arroyo’s resignation
because Makati City is self-sufficient. Lawyer Gina Alvarez,
another GSM convenor, stressed that resigning from her post is the most
honorable thing the president could do at the moment. “I don’t know where the
president gets the nerve to smile despite the political and economic pains she
has caused the Filipino people,” she said. Sectors
unite Even before the launching
of GSM, various sectors launched different protest actions. Last June 30, the
Youth Dare led a mini-concert where all performances revolved on the need to
oust the president. Workers, the urban poor, representatives from the different
sectors and progressive organizations from Baguio and Benguet also staged a
march-rally last July 7. On July 12, students from
the University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB) led by the interim UPB Supreme
Student Council (UPB SSC) and the Alliance of Concerned Students (ACS) took the
issue to the streets with the call “Resign, Impeach, Patalsikin (Oust).” The
students later marched to Session Road and held a program at the People’s Park
that ended with a noise barrage. UPB SSC and ACS are member organizations of the
Youth Dare. Two days after, government
employees, health professionals, and the church discussed alternatives in
governance in a forum at UPB. Lawyer Albert Velasco, president of the Katipunan
ng Manggagawa sa GSIS (KMG, or Association of Workers at GSIS) based in Quezon
City, discussed government employees’ basis of unity in the call to oust the
President. For five years under the
Arroyo administration, the situation of the 1.4 million government employees has
gone form bad to worse, he said. “Our salaries never increased since GMA became
president, despite the increase in prices of basic goods and services. But it is
ironic that government can allot budget for debt servicing, but not for the
salaries of government workers,” Velasco added. A broad alliance of
government workers, the Rise All Government Employees 2 (RAGE 2), was formed
amid the snowballing call for Arroyo’s resignation, Velasco said. “We called it
RAGE 1 in 2001 during the campaign to oust former president Joseph Estrada.”
Transition council He also discussed possible
alternatives to the current crisis, which, in essence is the proposal for a
transition council. Velasco explained that the
transition council would set the necessary preparations for the elections that
will truly uphold the people’s choice, “thus doing away with the likes of
COMELEC’s Virgilio Garcillano and Benjamin Abalos, to make the elections
credible.” He added that basic sectors
would be involved in governance through the transition council. “What we need is
fundamental change. You cannot expect that from the ruling elite. They would not
want to change the prevailing system of governance because they benefit so much
from it.” With report from Karen Nisperos of Nordis / Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat