TWO CITIES: Baguio activists display anti-GMA pins (left) as protesters march along Ayala Avenue in Makati City (right).     Photos by Ace Alegre and Alex Remollino

With President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo desperately clinging on to the palace seat, militant groups this week said no amount of resignation calls from former allies and influential leaders would be enough to kick her out of Malacañang.

Instead, said Renato Reyes, secretary general of the nationwide sectoral group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan, New Patriotic Alliance), “the people’s action would decide Macapagal-Arroyo’s fate.” He said that the Filipino people today do not limit themselves to constitutional means in resolving the impasse.

“People power becomes justified if it becomes necessary,” he added.

Bayan is set to lead a mammoth rally on July 13 in the country’s financial capital, Makati City, along with the anti-Arroyo opposition parties, Bangon Pilipinas, supporters of presidential aspirant Fernando Poe, Jr. and other political forces.

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Major urban centers across the country are also expected to hold mass actions to press for the president’s removal, it was learned. Farmers belonging to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines) from Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Eastern Visayas and other regions will cease farm production starting July 11. They will join a caravan that would culminate in the big rally in Makati. Protesters aboard 200 vehicles coming from the regions are expected to add to at least 50,000 rallyers on that day.

Meanwhile, Maita Santiago, Migrante International secretary general, said that July 13 will be a global protest as thousands of overseas Filipino workers will also hold their own rallies in as many countries. The OFW protests will be led by the newly-formed group Outrage, a broad alliance of migrant workers, families and advocates calling for the president’s resignation.

Fractured elite

The beleaguered President announced via a taped radio broadcast July 8, 6 p.m. that she is not resigning her post even after 10 of her cabinet officials publicly announced their resignation in a press conference that morning at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Manila. They have called on the President to resign as well.

The cabinet resignation that included the president’s economic team – Cesar Purisima (Finance), Emilia Boncodin (Budget), Juan Santos (Trade) and Guillermo Parayno (Internal Revenue) – made way for the business community led by the Makati Business Club (MBC) to call for the President’s resignation.

Later at noon, the Liberal Party led by Senate President Franklin Drilon also expressed its call for Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation.

The pivotal move that same day was the press conference of former President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino calling for Macapagal-Arroyo to do a “supreme sacrifice” by tendering her immediate resignation.

The influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is set to announce its position early this week.

But the calls of the groups and individuals only proposed nothing more than a constitutional succession that would mean having Vice President Noli de Castro as the country’s next president.

However, Bayan’s Reyes said this move would make the impression that the ouster of Macapagal-Arroyo is only an “affair of the elite” and is only poised to “defuse mass actions.”

Transition council

Bayan Muna (BM – people first) Rep. Teodoro Casiño, in a press conference at noon on the same day, said that after Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation or ouster, it will no longer be “business as usual of replacing the president and everything else remains the same.”

Instead, he said, there will be a council which will consist of representatives of the basic sectors of workers and peasants, the anti-Arroyo opposition, church, academe, professionals and retired military and police officers who uphold civilian supremacy.

This will lead to the transition government to institute the necessary reforms, said Casiño.

The BM party-list congressman said that constitutional successor Noli de Castro may or may not be included in the council or may retain his position, but the leadership will remain with the transition council. Casiño said the council is important as they see that “by himself (de Castro), he cannot institute changes in the system.”

Gabriela Women’s Party Liza Maza, however, said that de Castro should first withdraw his support to the president.

Meanwhile, the board of directors of the independent think tank Ibon Foundation issued a statement on July 8 that a “representative governing council” that will replace Macapagal-Arroyo must ensure the democratic participation of the majority classes and sectors in the country.

“Installing another politician will not make a difference and will only worsen the political instability and economic crisis,” the Ibon statement said.

People’s agenda

In a statement, BM’s National Executive Council said that the council “should pursue political, economic and social reforms demanded by the people, especially the exploited and oppressed sectors of society."

Among the most urgent tasks of the council Bayan Muna enumerated were: "1) the conduct of full and thorough investigation into the involvement and culpability of the former President Arroyo, Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcilliano, military officials and others involved in fraud and deceit in the 2004 elections; 2) Prosecute cases of graft and corruption involving the First Family and other government officials in all levels; 3) put in place meaningful electoral and political reforms; 4) render justice and indemnify victims of human rights violations and ensure the respect and protection of civil liberties; 5) resume the peace process with Muslim and Communist revolutionary groups by fulfilling all existing agreements; 6) solve the fiscal criss by canceling or repudiating the country's odious and onerous debts; 7) protect the country from the ravages of free market globalization and reversing the disastrous
structural adjustment programs imposed by the country's foreign creditors.”

Erosion of middle forces’ support

The last few days had seen a steady erosion of support for Macapagal-Arroyo from the middle forces – a sector whose broadest participation, analysts say, is crucial for the success of popular uprisings aiming to oust a President.

Over the last weekend, De La Salle University (DLSU) – one of the most influential Catholic schools – came out publicly with a statement calling on Macapagal-Arroyo to resign.

The DLSU call was followed by an online petition initiated by the mostly Manila-based poets’ group Kilometer 64 calling for Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation or ouster and the formation of a transition council that would undertake a number of reforms beyond what it called “a mere regime change.”

The petition assails Macapagal-Arroyo for what it described as her administration’s repeated violation of the freedom of expression – ranging from the banning of socially relevant films to the gagging of media and the cultural sector and the giving of national award to “self-appointed literary mentors who have made a living out of discouraging novice writers from taking the path of social concern.” It also assails what it calls the Macapagal-Arroyo administration’s attempt “to conscript” writers and other cultural workers for an anti-corruption campaign which it descriubed as “hypocritical.”

As of July 9, 10:28 a.m. Philippine time, the petition has gathered 130 signatures. Among the signatories are poet-journalist Richard Gappi, U.S.-based poet and literary scholar E. San Juan, Jr., poet and playwright Joi Barrios, poet John Enrico Torralba, poet and literary critic Gelacio Guillermo, art critic Alice Guillermo, literary critic Elmer Ordoñez, poet Roberto Ofanda Umil, U.S.-based novelist Ninotchka Rosca, journalist Nonoy Espina, songwriter and singer Lei Garcia, and poet Aida Santos.

Over the week, the student council of the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, its national-language student publication Matanglawin; the Assembly, an organization of Political Science students in the same university, and a group of concerned faculty and staff of the university issued their own statements calling on Macapagal-Arroyo to resign. The Ateneo is also among the country’s most influential Catholic schools.

At the Dominican-administered University of Santo Tomas (UST), the broad-based Alliance of Concerned Thomasians and the local chapter of the Alliance of Law Students for the Advancement of Nationalism have also called on Macapagal-Arroyo to step down. So have a number of student organizations in Catholic schools St. Paul’s College-Manila, Adamson University, and San Beda College, as well as in Protestant schools Philippine Christian University (PCU) and Trinity College.

From the country’s movie industry, the Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng Pelikulang Pilipino (NMPP or United Filipino Film Workers) has also registered opposition to Macapagal-Arroyo’s continued presidency. Representing the NMPP in a July 5 press conference organized by the broad-based National Coalition for the Protection of Workers’ Rights (NCPWR) were directors Joel Lamangan, Carlitos Siguion Reyna, Emmanuel Borlaza, and Mel Chinglo; talent managers Douglas Quijano and Soxy Topacio, and actor Richard Gomez.

The succession of events led to anti-Arroyo rallies at the Liwasang Bonifacio (Bonifacio Plaza) in Manila on July 7. The successive withdrawals of support for Macapagal-Arroyo by the 10 Cabinet members, Aquino, and the MBC were followed by the rally of Bayan activists and FPJ supporters on Ayala Avenue, as well as a prayer assembly by the Bangon Pilipinas (Arise Philippines) National Renewal Movement led by evangelist Eddie Villanueva, who also ran for President last year.

Tricks

Meanwhile, Jose Maria Sison, chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), presented in a statement sent to media the courses of action that Macapagal-Arroyo may take in view of what he called the “disintegration” of the current regime.

“One is to take a leave of absence and have the vice-president Noli de Castro perform the functions of the presidency,” he said. “Another is for her to become the ‘caretaker president,’ who will follow a script prepared by former president Fidel V. Ramos, Speaker Jose de Venecia and some smart guys of Lakas-NUCD.”

“The script entrusts the ‘caretaker president’ with the task of letting a ‘high commission’ to go through the motion of investigating some corruption scandals, the two houses of Congress to become a constituent assembly that will make constitutional amendments for satisfying the US and the local exploiting classes and for adopting a federal and parliamentary system and the parliamentary elections to take place in 2006,” the exiled revolutionary leader added.

He warned the broad united front against Macapagal-Arroyo “not to be complacent” and to be more resolute and militant than ever in arousing and mobilizing the people in their millions. With reports by Alexander Martin Remollino and Aubrey Makilan/Bulatlat

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