This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 25, July 31-August 6, 2005
Nothing
could keep the fiery Filipinos from speaking their minds, not distance, and
especially if it involves the Macapagal-Arroyo presidency, the source of their
many woes.
BY AUBREY
SC MAKILAN
Even from afar, overseas Filipinos are updated and involved in
activities on issues back home.
Just after former U.S. Attorney General and world-renown human
rights lawyer Ramsey Clark announced his support for the ouster of President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Filipino groups around the globe in fact staged
protests in their host countries simultaneous with the rally in the
Philippines on the same day of the president’s State of the Nation Address (SONA)
on July 25.
In
Hong Kong,
the Overseas Filipinos Unite to Remove the Arroyo Government (Outrage) organized
the protest since the eve of the Macapagal-Arroyo’s SONA. Outrage is a broad
alliance of migrants, their families and advocates calling for President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation or ouster.
The July 25 protest was a whole day affair which started with a
variety show cum videoke singing in the morning followed by a program in the
afternoon.
Around 1,000 persons attended. Members of United Filipinos in
Hong Kong, Migrante Sectoral Party-Hong Kong and the yellow-shirted Bangon
Pilipinas/Jesus Is Lord Movement comprised the crowd.
Leaders of various organizations representing regions and provinces
in the
Philippines,
such as Cordillera Alliance, Abra Tinguian Ilocano Society, Mindanao Federation
and Bicol Migrant Workers, also joined the protest.
Different organizations under OUTRAGE signed a life-size signboard
with the president’s face on a passport stamped with “FAKE” and with the call
“Gloria: Patalsikin!”
In
Canada,
Filipinos and supporters gathered in front of the Philippine Consulates in
Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and braved the scorching heat the summer of +35
degrees. The day before, they marched along
Main St.
towards Broadway, a "Filipino-town" area popular for Filipino church service,
eateries and stores.
The protesters vowed to continue their protests until Macapagal-Arroyo
resign.
In
Vancouver,
a community forum titled, "What's Next After Gloria? The People's Agenda," will
be held August 13 at the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood House while flyers and a
petition for the Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation will be circulated in
Montreal
on July 30. An indoor forum will also be held in Toronto.
According to Migrante International, there are about 500,000
Filipinos in
Canada
which make them the fourth largest visible minority group in Canada.
Meanwhile, Filipinos in
Australia, led by Migrante-Australia, held a picket at the Philippine Consulate
in Sydney on July 25. Before that, members of the Philippines-Australia Women's
Association (Pawa)-Migrante Women delivered their letter addressed to Macapagal-Arroyo
through the Philippine Consulate in Sydney on July 19. Vice Consul Ferdinand
Victoria received the letter. PAWA chair Ma. Eva Tingson took the opportunity to
discuss with Victoria the concerns of Filipino migrant women on the current
political and financial crisis.
Three days after, on July 28, the Philippines-Australia Solidarity
Association in
Melbourne
organized a public forum on the current political and economic crisis in
the Philippines with Rey Casambre of the Philippine Peace Center as the speaker.
The same forum will be echoed on August 2 in
Sydney.
In
Europe,
protests and discussions were held in the Netherlands, Italy, and Switzerland.
An “Oust GMA” Campaign Plan, including Bagong Alyansang Makabayan’s (New
Patriotic Alliance-Bayan) “Gloriagate” PowerPoint presentation and
materials on the Philippine’s national situation, for
Europe was furnished to all
Migrante chapters and Europe-wide Consultation of Organizations of Filipinos (Ecofil)
network.
On July 23, Migrante-Netherlands (NL) members held a special
meeting to discuss concrete implementation of political actions to be taken in
connection with the current political crisis back home though
information-education activities of members were carried out since June.
Aside from withholding of remittances, Migrante-NL members adopted
and signed the statement “Kumilos tayo upang matanggal ang korap at
mandarayang gobyerno ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo!” Members also agreed to
support the call for the withholding of remittances to express withdrawal of
support to the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. They also held a church-hopping
in
Amsterdam
to distribute the statement which included El Shaddai, Jesus is Lord, Couples
for Christ, and Iglesia ni Kristo.
In
Italy,
Migrante’s Manggagawang Pilipino Tungo sa Pag-unlad (Umangat-Rome) coordinated
with church people for discussions and petition signing activities in Rome and
Milan.
In
Geneva,
Switzerland, “Oust GMA” statements were distributed, and even published in a
Filipino newsletter with 2000 circulation. Migrante-United Kingdom (UK) members
were collecting more signatures for their signature drive.
In
New York,
creative Fil-Ams, led by NY Coalition for Gloria’s Ouster and Bayan-USA made a
giant toilet bowl carrying the sign “Plunge Gloria,” with an actress inside
portraying Macapagal Arroyo on her cellphone being pushed down with toilet
plungers.
The colorful protest also included a giant “Lie-Sol” spray in
“Glo-berry” scent alongside the giant toilet bowl. The spray is reportedly a
“disinformational” spray that kills odors and others, like priests, journalists,
lawyers, and activists.
The protesters sang the “Glory Allelujah,” with ditty lyrics about
the president’s alleged cheating acts and the call for her resignation, and
another to the tune of the popular dance song “Ocho Ocho.”
The program highlighted the symbolic flushing and plunging of an
actress dressed as Macapagal-Arroyo inside the giant toilet bowl while the crowd
chanted a clogging sound “glug, glug, glug!” followed by the flushing sound.
The protest was also held simultaneously with Anti-Arroyo protests
in
Seattle,
Los Angeles and
San Francisco.
Meanwhile, 58 Filipino-American community leaders in the
United States also expressed their
position in an open letter to the president. The letter appeared as a full-page
advertisement in the July 25 issue of Dyaryo Pilipino, a Filipino
community weekly that circulates in
California, Texas and Florida.
Among the signatories to the open letter were leaders of the
Alliance for a Just and Lasting Peace (AJLPP), Act Now to Stop War and End
Racism (International ANSWER), American Coalition of Filipino Veterans (ACFV),
American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)-Los Angeles,
California Nurses Association, Philippine Peasant Support Network, and
Washington Human Rights Forum on the
Philippines.
“It is time to go, Madame President, Resign Now!” the letter said.
To avoid “further political divisiveness and confusion that
aggravate economic hardships and uncertainty,” the Fil-Ams called on the
president’s “sense of patriotism and humility and heed the call of the majority
of the Filipino people to step down from the presidency.”
The leaders added that the president could not use the alibi of
"upholding the legal process and the Constitution" when she herself “violated
the fundamental law of the land by cheating in the elections” and “use the
usurped powers of the presidency to perpetuate yourself in power.”
Protesting at home
Meanwhile, Fil-Ams in the country did not miss the chance to join
the over 80,000 protesters at
Commonwealth Ave.,
Quezon City.
Fil-Ams’ participation started with a press conference on the eve
of SONA in
Quezon City.
"We are representing the calls, concerns, and sentiments of our compatriots and
solidarity friends in the United States, who want to see the end
to this illegitimate administration as much as Filipinos do in the
Philippines," said Sergio Robledo of USA 4 GMA's Resignation, a national
coalition of U.S.-based Filipinos and organizations calling for Gloria's
resignation.
About 40 Fil-Ams chanting, "We gotta beat back the Gloria attack!
We gotta beat beat back, the Gloria attack!" marched along
Commonwealth Avenue with the banners "USA 4
GMA's Resignation" and Bayan-USA. Two Fil-Ams dressed like Lady Liberty and
Uncle Sam marching with placards "USA
says OUST GLORIA!" and "We want you, Gloria, to Resign!"
Fil-Ams also made a rap version of the “Hello Garci” ringtone with
lyrics, "C'mon Gloria, it's your last day, we're gonna protest like it's your
last day. We're gonna march at SONA like it's your last day. Cuz Filipinos in
the
US
want you out today!"
Meanwhile, according to Bayan, more than 100,000 people under its
network alone held
simultaneous protests in various cities and
provinces, including Vigan,
Baguio,
Negros, Cebu, and Davao. Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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