MANILA, Philippines -- Aside from filling the streets with protesters, militant groups planning to hold rallies during the State of the Nation Address on Monday will also try to outdo each other in fashioning and displaying the ugliest but most meaningful effigies of the country?s most unpopular president since Ferdinand Marcos.

This weekend, members of organizations calling themselves ?progressives? and belonging to various leftist ideologies but all critical of the Arroyo government are busily preparing their effigies, among other rally paraphernalia, and rehearsing songs and speeches for their own version of the SONA.

?An effigy should be repulsive or grotesque to attract the attention of the public. The viewer, upon closer inspection, could then see the symbols that the effigy wants to convey,? said Wendell Gumban, information officer of the labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno.

Most of the effigies, prepared by the groups' artistically-endowed members and supporters, bear the President's likeness in caricature, emblazoned with epithets or even symbolic objects, conveying what the protesters criticize about her administration and policies.

KMU will be featuring an effigy it dubbed ?Gloria: VAT-Girl,? complete with a black cape shaped like a bat's wings.

At the KMU office in Barangay (Village) Claro, Cubao, Quezon City, on Saturday members of the group were making final touches on the paper-and-wood effigy, which would be carried during the rally and later set on fire.

?We know for sure that the President will highlight the importance of the value added tax, even if Filipinos are suffering from it. So scrapping the VAT will be one of the main focus of our protest,? Gumban told the Inquirer.

Artists from the cultural group Ugat Lahi, meanwhile, are preparing the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan's effigy of the President, said to be the umbrella organization's biggest.

Bayan's 21-foot tall effigy features the hull of sinking ship and Arroyo flying away aboard a plane.

?Various opposition groups have described the current state of the nation as a 'sinking sea vessel' with the captain of the ship even robbing the passengers,? Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. explained.

He said the giant protest art is also a reference to the President's recent visit to the United States while the country suffered from a typhoon and sea tragedy.

?The ship will be called M/V Pilipinas, a vessel battered by weekly oil price increases, rice crisis, oppressive taxes, and tidal waves of repression. It is a stark commentary on what the country has become seven years under this rotten regime,? Reyes added.

The effigy was the eighth made by Ugat Lahi, according to the group's head artist Max Santiago. The artist group works as a volunteer for Bayan. Many of the materials used in the production of the effigy are recycled or solicited from friends.

?Our artists wish that this would be the last Gloria effigy we make. No other president since Marcos could claim to have been portrayed in so many different ways. It?s shameful really,? Santiago said.

Previous works of Ugat ng Lahi include the 2001 ?Gloria Jack in the Box,? which was made in the aftermath of the second Edsa People Power uprising that catapulted her to power, and the 2002 ?Gloria Termite? effigy in reference to remarks made by Arroyo against some critics whom she described as ?anay (termites).?

In 2003, the group mounted the ?Running Glo?? effigy as a commentary on the plans of Arroyo to run in the 2004 elections. The following year, the President was made to look like a mechanical vulture and fighter plane, highlighting her support for the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The 2005 effigy dubbed ?Gloria Kapit Tuko? featured a huge gecko with the head of Arroyo clinging on to a model of the Malacañang Palace, in reference to the President's refusal to resign amid the ?Hello, Garci? scandal.

In 2006, at the height of extra-judicial killings and after the declaration of a state of emergency, Ugat Lahi mounted the ?Gloria Hitler? effigy, showing the President's face with the Nazi dictator's famous mustache.

Last year?s effigy was that of the mythical ?manananggal,? a winged folk monster that terrorizes people in the countryside. It was the year when the anti-terror law, or Human Security Act, was implemented.

The ?sinking ship? effigy would be the highlight of the Bayan march along Commonwealth Avenue and the broad ?People?s SONA? near Ever Gotesto mall in Commonwealth Avenue.

Reyes said the People?s SONA will also include various opposition and anti-Arroyo groups. The Bayan coalition alone will bring about 10,000 marchers to Commonwealth, he added.

Santiago said this year's effigy will not be completely burned, but not because the group wanted to recycle it for a future rally.

"As in the past SONAs, the Gloria effigy will be set afire. However, the ship will not be burned because there?s still hope we can ?raise it? from the waters. Our country can still be rescued from the clutches of plunderers and exploiters in this regime,? Santiago said.