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Unless the Arroyo regime released all the individuals it has thrown to jail for politically motivated and fabricated charges, the abolition last month of the agency behind these cases will amount to nothing but a publicity stunt, according to lawyers and human-rights advocates.
Audio: Fiery Words Against Charter Change
Outside Manila, the Same Indignation
'Stop Cha-cha! Enough of Gloria!'
Related Story: Threat of Flu No Match to Protesters' Outrage
More than a show of force, the protests across the Philippines on Wednesday were an expression of outrage, a manifestation of a people’s growing revulsion toward a regime that has become the most despised since the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
Several religious leaders have vowed to never abandon the Filipino people in their struggle to defeat the regime’s attempt to change the Constitution. Arroyo, they say, “has surpassed the brutality and evilness of martial law.”
Youths Out in Streets Vs 'Piggish' Arroyo
Groups across the Philippines are gearing up for what they promised to be one of the biggest nationwide protests against the Arroyo administration and its efforts to amend the Constitution.
Bulatlat introduces Bulatlat Live, the website's newest multimedia feature that makes full use of the Internet to cover major live events. For its debut coverage, Bulatlat Live will cover the protests on June 10, Wednesday, against charter change. From Makati City, where the main rally will take place, to several key areas across the country, Bulatlat's pool of editors, reporters and correspondents will provide updates and breaking news -- text, images, audio and video -- either in real time or immediately after they occur.
All these hard sell about a strong economy – despite undeniable data that the Philippines is on the verge of a recession -- would be further exposed and discredited as the global crunch and the country’s own perennial crisis deteriorate. For Arroyo, the political costs can be huge.
The regime of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will go down in history as among the worst in terms of providing education. While dropout rates are common in other presidencies, it was only under Arroyo that the dropout rates for elementary and high school surpassed 10 and 15 percent respectively.
Video: VFA@10 -- A Decade of Subservience
The landlord-dominated Congress, led by the relatives of President Arroyo, voted Wednesday night to add five more years to the implementation of a 20-year-old agrarian-reform program that has failed to uplift the lives of peasants and farmers in the Philippines. And critics say the new proposed law is even worse than the original.
Stopping the Cha-Cha Train
Several groups critical of the Arroyo regime met yesterday to plan their next moves. A number of protest rallies have been scheduled beginning Thursday.
Despite the rain, Filipinos protested on Wednesday against Charter change. (Photo by Glaiza May Muzones / bulatlat.com)
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