This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, Special Release, Sept. 7, 2005
After the Impeach
‘Murder,’ the Deluge The
killing by pro-Arroyo majority congressmen of the impeachment complaint, which
had the support of several organizations, has ignited a series of mass protests.
A new broad oust-Arroyo alliance has vowed to remove the president by a third
people power. BY
ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO The impeachment complaints
against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are now dead at the plenary of the
House of Representatives. But the President’s problems are not over. Various pro-impeachment
groups and individuals, now coalesced under the Bukluran para sa Katotohanan
(Solidarity for Truth), have promised bigger nationally-coordinated mass
protests to force Macapagal-Arroyo out of Malacañang. The movement to remove the
president, who faces charges of constitutional violations, has shifted back to
the streets, organizers of Bukluran said. At presstime, about 10,000
anti-Arroyo protesters from Bukluran are massing up at the People Power Monument
along EDSA, site of two people power uprisings that toppled two presidents –
Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph E. Estrada in 2001. An emotional Susan Roces,
widow of presidential aspirant Fernando Poe, Jr., denounced the killing of the
impeachment complaint by pro-Arroyo legislators even as she vowed to join daily
mass protests from hereon until the president is removed from office. A similar number of
protesters have also mobilized just outside the University of Sto. Tomas campus
along España Street following an inter-faith rally. They were blocked by a large
contingent of anti-riot policemen backed by fire trucks in an effort to prevent
them from marching toward Mendiola Bridge just outside the presidential palace. The day before, Sept. 6, as
the House pro-Arroyo majority dealt the final blow against the impeachment
complaint, close to 20,000 protesters led by former President Corazon C. Aquino,
former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Jr., Ms. Roces and mass leaders from
Bukluran held a spontaneous rally on the road leading to the House of
Representatives. Meanwhile, another broad
alliance, the Solidarity Movement, was also launched Sept. 7 with groups
identified with deposed President Estrada as the convenors, along with leaders
of the progressive party-list bloc and other organizations. San Juan Rep. Ronnie
Zamora, head of the opposition impeachment team, also planned to raise the issue
before the Supreme Court. Shot down Earlier on Aug. 30, the
House Committee on Justice had shot down by a vote of 48-4 with one abstention
the amended version of the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano,
which was being pushed by people’s organizations and opposition solons. Later
that day, the original Lozano complaint was killed as well. The original Lozano
complaint charged Arroyo with betrayal of public trust, citing as basis her
admission that she had talked to election officials during the counting of votes
in the 2004 presidential election. The amended complaint,
meanwhile, accused her of bribery, graft and corruption, and culpable violation
of the Constitution aside from betrayal of public trust. Among the charges
leveled against her by the amended impeachment complaint is complicity in human
rights abuses committed by state forces, falling under culpable violation of the
Constitution. Arroyo has been facing
calls for her resignation, impeachment or ouster over renewed allegations that
she cheated her way to victory in the 2004 election, as well as what
cause-oriented groups describe as her government’s imposition of “anti-national
and anti-people” policies. On Sept. 6, the House of
Representatives in plenary session voted 159-52 with six abstentions to
recognize the report of the Justice Committee on the amended complaint. Twenty
House members did not vote or failed to show up at the last hour. From
Congress to streets “The people’s hope for
truth and change has inexorably passed on from Congress to the Parliament of the
Streets,” said Bayan Muna (People First) Rep. Satur Ocampo in a statement
released later that day. As the final count of votes
was delivered, members of the Bukluran who had watched the proceedings at the
gallery walked out and placed the Philippine flag on the House grounds at half
mast. The final death blow to the
amended complaint came as thousands of people belonging to various anti-Arroyo
groups held a rally on the IBP road leading to the Batasan complex housing the
House. The protesters braved the
scorching early afternoon heat as they marched two kms. from the St. Peter’s
Church along Commonwealth Avenue following a prayer assembly. Police tried to
block the street but were no match for the ralliers, whose frontliners engaged
them in a pushing match. Among those seen fighting it out with the police were
actress Ms. Roces, widow of the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr. who is widely
believed to have been the real winner in the 2004 presidential election; and
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former national police chief. Former Internal Revenue
Commissioner Liwayway Vinzons-Chato would deliver the rally’s opening salvo by
singing “Kunin Mo o Diyos, at
tanggalin Mo/Ang aming Presidente...”
(o God, take and remove our President...), her protest parody of a Church
offertory hymn. In front of the House, the
protesters – who by mid-afternoon had reached about 20,000 – put up with heat
and rain in turns as they listened to indignant speeches. Among the speakers was
lawyer Nasser Marohomsalic, who dwelt on the Islamic doctrine of punishing liars
by cutting off their tongues. A former commissioner of the Commission on Human
Rights (CHR), Marohomsalic is with the White Ribbon Movement (WRM), an
anti-Arroyo middle-force alliance, and the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties
(Codal). No
stopping Bukluran Meanwhile, Bro. Armin
Luistro, spokesperson of the Bukluran, did a symbolic offering of the amended
impeachment complaint together with all its supplemental affidavits to the
Filipino people, and announced that the group will be doing a signature campaign
to continue the search for truth. “The death of the impeachment complaint in
Congress will not stop the Bukluran from seeking the truth,” he said at the
rally. He also told reporters that
the Bukluran hopes to submit the impeachment complaint directly to the people,
possibly through a people’s tribunal. A speaker from Be Not Afraid also called
for a people’s tribunal to try Arroyo in lieu of an impeachment court. “We will not be letting her
sleep soundly,” said Renato Reyes, Jr., secretary-general of the Bagong
Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance), said at the rally. He
uttered these words following reports that Arroyo had issued a statement saying
that with the “closure” of the impeachment issue, she could sleep soundly.
“Whichever corner of the
world she chooses to hide herself in,” Reyes added, “she will not be able to
escape the wrath of the people.” Meanwhile, Ronald Lumbao of
the People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP) said: “The fact that these forces
have linked up with each other is a sign that Arroyo’s days are numbered even if
her behind is glued to Malacañang.” Pateros-Taguig Rep. Alan
Peter Cayetano, spokesperson of the impeachment team, showed up at the rally
dressed in denims and a casual shirt. “In the coming days, we the
pro-impeachment congressmen will be shedding our barong Tagalog, our
neckties and coats,” he said at the rally, “and we will bring our case before
those whom we are sure would listen to us – those who wear slippers and
sandals.” He also sarcastically
called on the protesters not to insult Congress too much. “Don’t you know that
this is the best Congress money can buy?” he quipped. Reports have been rife that
the administration camp has been bribing congressmen in exchange for not signing
the impeachment complaint. But Palace spokespersons have been shrugging off the
reports. As of press time,
protesters are massing up in front of the People Power Monument along Edsa,
where historic rallies that led to the ouster of former Presidents Ferdinand
Marcos and Joseph Estrada were held. With a separate report / Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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New broad anti-Arroyo alliance launches
big rallies in 2 days
With additional report
Bulatlat