Overseas Filipinos Press for Gloria’s Ouster
‘Hello, Garci!’ ringtones make waves in New York rally

An increasing number of Filipinos in Canada, the United States, Hong Kong and Europe want President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign now. Their demand came up in protest rallies held in major cities abroad last week.

By Bulatlat

An increasing number of Filipinos in Canada, the United States, Hong Kong and Europe want President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign now. Their demand came up in protest rallies held in major cities abroad coinciding with the 50,000-strong rally held July 13 in Ayala, Makati City in the Philippines led by militant organizations together with anti-Arroyo traditional opposition parties. Reports from Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal with big populations of Filipino-Canadians showed most of them are demanding the ouster of Macapagal-Arroyo.

Canada protesters brandish "oust GMA" banner, July 13 Photo courtesy of Kalayaan Center

Cecilia Diocson, national chair of the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC), said Filipinos from all walks of life, including the middle class, are disgusted over Macapagal-Arroyo’s “stubborn refusal to step down despite strong evidence that she cheated in last year’s presidential elections.”

In Vancouver last week, hundreds of Filipinos rallied outside the Hilton Hotel where a $50-a-plate farewell dinner was held for Philippine Consul General Zenaida Rabago. The rallyers called for the president’s ouster.

Many protesters said Macapagal-Arroyo’s ouster is justified and that it is merely a matter of time before she is removed.

With news of protests in the Philippines reaching Canada, Filipinos across the country are trying to make sense of the current political crisis back home. Many are staying up late to monitor TV news and surfing the websites of Philippine news outlets, it was learned.

Other Filipino workers are discussing the issue with their families and other Filipinos in restaurants, churches, buses and homes, reports also said.

Fourth largest

Canada is home to some 500,000 Filipinos spread out across all major cities in Canada. Filipinos are the fourth largest minority group in Canada.

In Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal discussions with domestic workers, service workers and factory workers revealed Filipinos are more than ready to demand Arroyo’s ouster, it was reported.

"Kailangan talaga tanggalin ‘yan" (She really needs to be removed.), said one domestic worker in Toronto. "Abusado siya at nagdaya ng eleksyon" she added. (She’s abusive and cheated in the election.)

"Oo naman dapat lang magresign si Arroyo" (Of course, Arroyo should resign), said Louie a 23-year-old convenience store worker over his dinner in a Vancouver Filipino restaurant.

One of the petitions circulating in Vancouver read Macapagal-Arroyo has “lost legal and moral basis to hold (her) seat as president.”

But the legitimacy of her presidency has been questioned even before the controversial tapes came out, the petition read further, citing increased poverty, Arroyo’s increased dependence on foreign remittances and exploitation of migrant workers through the Labor Export Policy, massive corruption and fascism as reasons for igniting the Filipino people’s anger.

United States

In the United States, hundreds of Filipinos launched coordinated protest actions in New York, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco calling for Macapagal-Arroyo’s ouster, a report from the U.S. Alliance for GMA’s Resignation (Outrage) said. The actions were held during the International Day of Action highlighted by the Makati rally in the Philippines.

In the Filipino commercial district of Woodside, Queens, New York community organizations Philippine Forum, Anakbayan, the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP) together with big groups of teachers, lawyers, students and domestic workers streamed out into the streets to condemn Macapagal-Arroyo.

Dr. Robyn Rodriguez, an immigration scholar from Rutgers University and spokesperson for the New York Coalition for Gloria’s Ouster (NYC 4 GLO), said “This day is significant because right now Filipinos all over the world are simultaneously coming together in mass mobilizations…to say that even though we are overseas, we have not forgotten our homeland, and we want this fake and illegitimate president to step down as much as our compatriots in the Philippines.

Humorous ringtones featuring the now-infamous “Hello Garci” wiretapped recordings blasted through loudspeakers along 69th and Roosevelt Avenue, while a giant cellphone titled “Cinungaling” (a play on the
popular brand Cingular) and featuring Gloria’s face playfully read “Press # to delete. Oust Gloria!”. Several onlookers and passersby, amused by the rally’s colorful antics, joined the rallyers.

After exposes of illegal gambling and massive electoral fraud in last year’s elections, the Macapagal-Arroyo regime has been slammed by a growing mass movement calling for regime change.

Beyond jueteng and poll scandal

“But this goes beyond the jueteng (an illegal numbers game) and elections scandal,” said Berna Ellorin of BAYANusa, also a convenor of the New York alliance. “The people placed their trust in Arroyo after ousting a corrupt Estrada regime back in 2001. But instead of taking us forward, Gloria has taken us 100 steps backward. She has embraced Bush’s war and opened our soil to U.S. military training. The Philippines is the fourth largest recipient of U.S. military aid. She has driven our country to an intense fiscal crisis by rampant corruption, and she takes home the prize for the highest record in human rights violations under her regime than any other in recent history.”

Ellorin also stressed that Gloria’s refusal to resign will inevitably lead to her ouster.

Protesters expressed their support for the formation of a transitional national council that would act as a consultative body and decide on the next steps for the country after Macapagal-Arroyo. “Plainly and simply, [Vice President] Noli de Castro is not an option!” Rodriguez said.

Hong Kong In Hong Kong, a group of Filipinos picketing the Philippine Consulate tagged Macapagal-Arroyo as “Brand X president.” Dolores T. Balladeres, chair of United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil HK), said “Brand X” in popular Philippine advertisements are products that are fake, substandard and should never be trusted. Balladeres said the blown-up photos of the president with a big X written over her face held by the protesters symbolized the people’s overwhelming demand for Macapagal-Arroyo to step down. Overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong are gearing up for a wave of protests in the coming weeks until the president is ousted, the Unifil chair also said. On July 10, more than 30 Filipino migrant groups formed the Overseas Filipinos, Families and Advocates: United and Rise to Oust Gloria (Outrage). “Outrage will gather thousands of Filipino migrants in a protest program on July 24 – the day before Macapagal-Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). If she’s still there,” Balladares said.

MESSAGE SENT: New York activist peers  through giant placard designed as mobile phone calling for Macapagal-Arroyo's ouster               Photo courtesy of NYCHRP

Similar alliances for Macapagal-Arroyo’s ouster are being formed in Italy and many other countries, she said.

The Unifil chair also reiterated the overseas Filipino workers’ support to the formation of a transitional governing council to replace the current administration. She said that former President Fidel V. Ramos’ formula of charter change is not acceptable to the Filipino people. Bulatlat

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