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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 3, Number 37 October 19 - 25, 2003 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 3, Number 37 October 19 - 25, 2003 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Storm of Indignation Greets Bush’s Whirlwind Visit Government
officials led by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo brought the country
under a virtual state of siege and high alert as they welcomed U.S.
President Bush Oct. 18. But the welcome, media hype and extravaganza were
no match to the thunderous, nationwide indignation unleashed by thousands
of patriotic Filipinos who declared Bush as an unwelcome visitor and a war
criminal. By
Alexander Martin Remollino
But
the protesters’ streamers, flags and posters were so huge and numerous and
their angry shouts so electrifying there was no way the American president –
called by rally speakers as the world’s “No. 1 terrorist” and “war
criminal” – could not notice the scene. The rally climaxed months-long
campaign that also saw parallel mass actions in the Philippines’ major cities,
caravans, a walkout in Congress and other activities in Asia. 100
U.S. flags set aflame in symbolic protest burning Several protesters – including women activists - climbed atop their own trucks and jeepneys to wave their placards and streamers. As Bush and Macapagal-Arroyo effigies were set aflame, a group of church people set off balloons to which was attached a picture of Bush with the message, “Bush not welcome!” written in big letters. The
indignation rallies held nationwide were as much a protest against the Bush
visit as it was against what patriotic organizations called President Macapagal-Arroyo’s
puppetry to the U.S. government on account of her unflinching support to the
U.S. president’s unpopular war on terror and secret moves to rebuild
America’s strong power projection in the country. Air
Force One Bush
arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Parañaque City on
board Air Force One around 1 p.m. for his eight-hour whirlwind state visit and
was met by government officials. The Manila visit was the American president’s
second in his six-nation Asian swing that includes Japan, Thailand (for the APEC
summit), Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. The
whole of Metro Manila was on high alert as thousands of troops and police units
some coming from the provinces to secure the U.S. president’s visit. Major
roads where Bush’s entourage was to pass were closed to traffic and groups of
protesters in Manila were immediately dispersed in the morning, reports said.
Days before his arrival, clusters of urban poor communities particularly those
near the Batasan (Congress) complex were demolished and some PhP80 million was
earmarked to welcome the visiting chief of state. Despite
the tight security and threats they would be dispersed if they had no rally
permits, some 10,000 “Ban Bush” protesters from all walks of life and
sectors braved the intense heat and thousands of heavily-armed security forces,
anti-riot units and firetrucks ranged against them. At 9 a.m. Oct. 18 the main
contingent kicked off from the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in
Diliman and marched along the University Avenue toward the Quezon Memorial
Circle where they were met by other contingents before heading toward the
Batasan complex on Commonwealth. At
around 11 a.m. as expected, the marchers were blocked along the avenue outside
the Ever-Gotesco mall which is just about a kilometer to Congress. Rally
organizers decided to hold the program at this point. The whole rally that was highlighted by resounding speeches, colorful cultural performances, and flag- and effigy-burning under sweltering heat lasted eight hours. Hundreds
of vendors peddled bottled mineral water, iced candy, taho and other
foodstuffs and drinks for the rallyists. Squatters living by the road as well as
streetchildren mingled and chanted with the crowd. The
big rally stalled by at least an hour Bush’s trip to Batasan where he was to
address a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives as the U.S.
president’s security men struggled over whether to allow Bush to take the
Commonwealth route – where the big anti-Bush rally was being held – or to
take the chopper. Amid the long wait, helicopters including a U.S. Air Force
chopper hovered several times sometimes within shouting distance as the
rallyists let loose their anger and fists. Walkout
– unprecedented In
Congress, legislators and dignitaries gave Bush a standing ovation except for
three who remained seated: Bayan Muna Reps. Satur Ocampo, Crispin Beltran and
Liza Maza. And before Bush would speak, the three legislators, joined by four
other party-list representatives, walked out. One of them tried to unfurl an
anti-war streamer but was seized by Congress security men. Observers noted the
walkout by Bayan Muna on a U.S. president was a first in recent memory. At least 180 other legislators were seen wearing “Legislators Against War” (LAW) pins although they opted to stay and listen to Bush’s speech that thanked Macapagal-Arroyo for her support and focused on drawing support for his anti-terror war. The anti-war pins it turned out were not enough as they became instant hits among the senators and representatives. Representative Maza was in a Filipina dress bearing the red, white, and blue colors of the Philippine flag. Wrapping her dress was a matching alampay (shawl) showing a U.S. missile being crushed by a sarimanok (a bird prominent in Philippine folklore) and an anti-war message below it. While
Bush was speaking, a huge black effigy of him with Macapagal-Arroyo in tow was
burned by the rallyists along Commonwealth. Earlier as Bush’s plane touched
down at NAIA, 100 American flags were burned simultaneously. Rally
speakers “They
are the ones who will conspire to kill the Filipino people.” This was how Carmen Deunida, chaiperson of the urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay, a federation of urban poor groups), described Bush and Macapagal-Arroyo in a fiery speech at the rally. Deunida, who is also with the worker-peasant alliance Anakpawis, was one of several speakers and performers at the 10,000-strong demonstration against the Bush visit. Speakers included Elmer Labog of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Maita Santiago of Migrante International, Amirah Lidasan of the Moro-Christian People’s Alliance, Apolinario Alvarez of Anak ng Bayan Youth Party, Teodoro Casiño of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan); Clemente Bautista, Jr. of Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment, Rita Baua of the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS)-Philippine Chapter, Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela, Prof. Antonio Tinio of Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT); Rafael Mariano of Bayan, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), and Anakpawis; and many others. There were cultural performances by Tambisan sa Sining, Sining Lila, the Southern Tagalog Cultural Network, Prof. Joi Barrios of the Congress of Teachers and Educators for Nationalism and Democracy, and others. Deunida, who called Bush a “monster,” condemned the demolition of shanties around the Batasan complex, where the House of Representatives is located, in preparation for the Bush visit. She also criticized the huge amounts of money spent for the visit, saying such amounts could have been put to use in service of the poor instead. ILPS A
statement by ILPS assailed the welcome for Bush as a manifestation of
subservience to U.S. intervention and neoliberal globalization. “Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo's puppetry to the number one terrorist and plundering
imperialist power knows no bounds,” the statement read. “Not
even the much-hated Marcos stooped so low as to ask for U.S. troops to help the
Philippine government armed forces fight the Filipino and Moro revolutionary
movements. The regime is also laying the ground for the return of the U.S.
military bases which were kicked out by the Filipino people in 1991. In return,
it is begging the U.S. for more economic and military aid. In
a statement read by Bayan Muna Representative Beltran at the rally after the
walk-out from Congress, Prof. Jose Maria Sison, chief political consultant of
the National Democratic Front, said: “The occasion reminds the entire nation
of the malevolent relationship between the imperialist superpower and the chief
representative of local reactionary classes in perpetuating the semi-colonial
and semi-feudal character of Philippine society, in escalating oppression and
exploitation and maintaining the current anti-national, anti-democratic corrupt
and brutal regime. “The
imperialist master is on a rendezvous with his most servile puppet in Southeast
Asia in order to exchange flatteries and celebrate their obscene relationship
amidst the rapidly worsening global and domestic crisis due to the basic
plunderous and aggressive character of monopoly capitalism. They are renewing
their lopsided collaboration in hyping and pursuing the bankrupt policies of
neoliberal globalization, state terrorism, wars of aggression such as those
against Afghanistan and Iraq and the growing US military intervention in the
Philippines.” Extravaganza Reports have it that the Philippine government spent a total of Php80million (U.S.$1.45 million) for the eight-hour visit. The state dinner alone cost Php500,000 (U.S.$9,090.91) or Php2,000 (U.S.$36.36) per head—which, based on a statement by the activist scientists’ group Agham, is more than what the Philippine government spends for each Filipino per day. The statement says that the government spends only Php253.63 (U.S.$4.61) per Filipino for agriculture, agrarian reform, and the Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act. MCPA’s
Lidasan condemned the widespread harassment of Muslim communities as part of the
U.S. anti-“terror” drive, which is supported by the Philippine government. Labog
and Mariano spoke of the plight of workers and peasants under globalization,
many of whom have lost their livelihood since the government entered the World
Trade Organization. Professor
Tinio and Alvarez, meanwhile, criticized the colonial and commercialized
educational system established by the U.S. in the Philippines which, they said,
propagates a colonial consciousness and deprives youths of the right to a decent
education. Santiago
spoke of the plight of Filipino migrants in the U.S., who usually suffer from
discrimination, and of how Filipinos are forced to seek better lives away from
the country as a result of the backward economic system dominated by the U.S. Culmination Last Oct. 10, multi-sectoral organizations based in Southern Tagalog and the Bicol region began a long march that finally reached Manila five days later. That same day was marked by simultaneous forums sponsored by Anakpawis and the Philippines Out of the WTO Youth Coalition. The First Quarter Storm Movement staged a motorcade in Manila last Oct. 12. Two days later, political prisoners started a five-day fast, primarily in protest against U.S. intervention in the case of Donato Continente, who was accused of killing Col. James Rowe, U.S. military adviser to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in the late 1980s. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison . He has served his full sentence, but has not been released because of U.S. pressures. Jailed members of the Magdalo, a group of junior officers and enlisted men of the AFP who staged an armed protest action at the Oakwood Hotel in Makati City last July 27 against military corruption and state-sponsored terrorism, also fasted in support of Continente and other political prisoners. Incidentally, the Magdalo group now prefers to be called the Bagong Katipunan. The marchers from Southern Tagalog and Bicol joined an inter-faith mass held at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City in the afternoon of Oct. 17. Initially they were blocked by police, as they had been in several legs of their trip, but through negotiation were able to join the mass, where Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Jr. participated together with Sr. Mary Grenough of the Justice Not War Coalition and other leaders and members of church and people’s organizations. After the mass, the rallyists marched to the UP campus in Diliman, where most of them stayed for a concert-vigil sponsored by Anakpawis and the Concerned Artists of the Philippines was held. Noted Musicians The Jerks, Jess Santiago, and Pol Galang performed in the concert, together with cultural groups Sining Bugkos, Sinagbayan, Southern Tagalog Cultural Network, Tambisan sa Sining, and others. Other protests There were similar protests held in other parts of the Philippines, as well as in other parts of the world, on Oct. 18. More than 25,000 protested in Mindanao, with the cities of Davao , Cagayan de Oro, and Gen. Santos as the main areas. In Central Luzon, there were a total of 5,000 protesters. Most of them were in Angeles City, Pampanga, where the former Clark Air Base is located. Reports had it that a total of 5,500 people rallied in the Visayas, with 1,500 in Iloilo and Roxas cities; 1,000 in Ormoc and Catarman in the Samar-Leyte region; and 3,000 in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Filipino communities in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, and Europe also held their own protest actions. Bulatlat.com Photo Gallery: Ban-Bush Protest March-Rally to Batasang Pambansa, Oct. 18, 2003 We want to know what you think of this article.
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