Another highlight of the program was a performance by rapper Peter Park Her, whose song demanded that those involved in corruption be lined up at Rizal Park and shot – in reference to the execution of Rizal, now the country’s national hero, in what was known as Bagumbayan in 1896.
Mary Grace Poe, daughter of the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr. who was Arroyo’s closest rival in the 2004 presidential elections, also spoke at the rally, urging the youth to think not only of their own futures but also the future of the nation.
Poe lost by 1.1 million votes to Arroyo in 2004 in an election marred by fraud, which repeatedly manifested itself in tampered election documents and discrepant poll figures.
The issue of fraud in the 2004 elections was revived in 2005, when presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye brought out into the open copies of the so-called “Hello Garci” tapes. These are a series of wiretapped and recorded conversations in which a woman with a voice similar to Arroyo’s is heard instructing an election official – widely believed to be then Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano – to rig the polls. The woman specifically instructs “Garci” to ensure a victory of “more than 1M” for her.
Before the youth-led program at the Liwasang Bonifacio, activists belonging to Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-National Capital Region (Bayan-NCR) staged a “Kalbaryo ng Maralita” (Calvary of the Poor), a street-theater presentation depicting the sufferings of the Filipino masses using Christianity-based imagery.
At around 2 p.m. Bayan and the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) marched to the Liwasang Bonifacio for an interfaith activity officiated by Abp. Oscar Cruz and Bp. Teodoro Bacani, both of the Catholic Church; and several Protestant pastors.
After the interfaith activity, which included the release of doves and green balloons, there were several speeches by student leaders from different schools.
Former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Jr. and Reps. Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna (People First) and Liza Maza of the Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) were in the rally, but did not speak on stage. Former Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) Commissioner Zosimo Paredes, who ran in the 2007 senatorial elections but lost, was also spotted in the rally.
The rally had a festive atmosphere, with performances by UP-based ethnic ensemble Kontra-Gapi and rock bands The Jerks, Republika de Lata, and Datu’s Tribe among others.
Rally organizers – mostly belonging to the Youth Act Now – estimated the crowd size at its peak at 10,000. Police estimates yielded a figure of 6,000.
Aside from the “usual suspects” UP and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), schools like the University of Asia and the Pacific, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas (UST), PLM, and the Philippine School of Business Administration (PSBA) were well-represented in the rally. (Bulatlat.com)
