This story was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 19, June 19-25, 2005


 

OFWs to Greet Gloria in Hong Kong with Ouster Call

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to visit Hong Kong on June 20 and Filipinos in the islands are gearing up to greet her – with protests.

BY BULATLAT

“If Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo thinks that by going abroad she will find respite from the political storm brought about by her fraudulent presidency and corruption-ridden rule, she’s badly mistaken.”

Thus said Dolores Balladares, chairperson of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-HK), one of the largest Filipino groups in Hong Kong.

“Mrs. Arroyo cannot wriggle her way out of the controversies hounding her in the Philippines. Filipinos abroad are also disgusted with her government and we shall be part of the brewing movement that calls for her ouster,” said Balladares.
 
According to Balladares, Mrs. Arroyo’s coming trip to Hong Kong shows how desperate she is to escape the heat of election fraud and corruption cases that have besieged the Arroyo government in the past weeks. At the same time, Balladares added, “she’s frantically putting up a front to show the international community that she’s still in control despite the precariousness of her situation.”
 
The group revealed that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) around the world are preparing themselves to mount a massive campaign “that will complement and strengthen the ouster call in the Philippines.”

The UNIFIL also said that different OFW groups, especially those allied with the Migrante International, will also call on to the international community, including international development aids and foreign governments, to withdraw support to the Arroyo government.
 
“This is an illegitimate president. This is an illegitimate government. They should stop extending assistance to a regime that Filipinos reject,” Balladares stressed.
 
The UNIFIL chair also said that they are prepared to go to the extent of encouraging OFWs to stop sending their remittances to government channels “to dry up the fund that Mrs. Arroyo just uses to further plunder our country.”
 
“Mrs. Arroyo may think that she’ll ride out the call for ouster in the Philippines by going abroad. She really is in for a ride from OFWs – a ride out of Malacañang,” Balladares concluded.

Similar calls by various Filipino and international groups in other countries including Canada, the United States and Europe are also mounting, Bulatlat learned. Bulatlat

 

© 2004 Bulatlat  Alipato Publications

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