The marchers filled
the streets of Manila, and in their protest materials depicted President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as a monster and a likeness of the infamous German
fascist Adolf Hitler.
They lambasted her
Charter change drive as a ploy to perpetuate her stay in office and the
cycle of killings.
It was one of the
rare instances when people from different faiths were seen praying on the
same stage. At the inter-faith program at the Liwasang Bonifacio that
afternoon, Catholic bishops prayed together with Protestant and Born Again
leaders, and Christians prayed with Muslims and Hindus.
Politically, the
event featured a broad mix as well, as leaders from progressive
organizations rubbed elbows with politicians from the traditional
political opposition.
The crowd featured a
cross-section of society: the well-heeled blending with the unshod.
Christian and
non-Christian, activists and mainstream anti-administration forces were
all one that day in mourning the deaths of political activists and the
perishing of democracy itself, as expressed in the lighting of candles and
torches and the waving of half-mast flaglets.
Bulatlat
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© 2006 Bulatlat
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