MANILA, Philippines--Catholic priests lead protesters in releasing doves and green balloons after an interfaith mass during the youth-led rally at the Liwasang Bonifacio on Friday. Organizers say the gesture signifies peace and the search for truth in the wake of the national broadband deal scandal hounding the Arroyo administration. Video taken by INQUIRER.net multimedia editorial assistant Abigail Kwok.
Youth lead Manila protest as politicians take back seat By Abigail Kwok, Thea Alberto, Allison Lopez, Alcuin Papa, Tina Santos INQUIRER.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 15:58:00 03/14/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 5) Politicians took a back seat as thousands of students and left-wing activists led in pressing their call for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's resignation Friday in the third mass protest in a month over corruption allegations implicating her and her husband.
Several Roman Catholic bishops and dozens of priests and nuns critical of Arroyo joined the rally at the Liwasang Bonifacio in central Manila. Some released doves and green balloons to signify peace and the search for truth.
Rally organizers estimated the protesters reached a peak of 10,000 but police placed the number at 6,000, much smaller than the tens of thousands who rallied in Makati City two weeks ago in the biggest protest since the opposition-dominated Senate opened hearings into the Internet broadband scandal last year.
Former vice president Teofisto Guingona, Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo, and Gabriela Representative Liza Maza joined the protest, but were not allowed to go up the stage. Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim briefly spoke on stage but later told reporters his presence was only to ensure peace and order and not to join calls for Arroyo to step down.
The protesters peacefully dispersed after about four hours of impassioned speeches, songs and chants of “Oust Gloria!”
Among the more notable events on the program was a time-travel skit on the alleged scams of the Arroyo administration had the crowd in stitches.
The fast-paced role-play performed by the University of the Philippines Repertory, which had a lone narrator doing all the voices and two actresses exaggerating their moves, was about a curious girl from the future who traveled magically to the past, witnessing one scam after another in her quest to find Arroyo's "mole."
The crowd laughed heartily when the girl realized that she did not need "magic shoes" to get to the end of the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, which was "so short for its overprice."
Renato Reyes, secretary general of leftwing alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance, Bayan) said mass actions would continue even during the Lenten week, as long as Arroyo refused to resign.
"The fight is definitely far from over," said Reyes. "There will be a resurrection of sorts in protest movements right after the Lenten break. People will not forget easily the sins of this administration.”
The Senate has been investigating allegations that Arroyo, her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo and former elections chief Benjamin Abalos Sr. benefited from huge kickbacks in the aborted US$330 million deal with China's ZTE Corp. to set up a nationwide broadband network.
Malacañang has dismissed the charges as hearsay and opposition "grandstanding." The First Gentleman and Abalos -- who resigned last year after he was implicated -- have both denied any wrongdoing. ZTE has said it did not bribe anyone.
Arroyo canceled the contract in September because of the controversy.
Jose "Joey" De Venecia III, the first to blow the whistle on the alleged bribes and overpricing in the broadband deal, urged the public never to give up in their search for truth behind the scandal.
Reyes said the issues of "corruption, human rights abuses and abuse of power" remain, "so the protests will continue."
Scores of marchers from urban poor communities carried bamboo crosses with placards saying "Stop the Suffering" as they chanted "Oust Gloria!"
Local artists, including rapper Peter Park Her, whose song tackles allegations of corruption in the Arroyo government, performed before the crowd.
Rock bands like Datu's Tribe, Republika de Lata and rapper Gloc9 were also among the performers.
Pinoy punk group Music Front fronted by Arnold Morales (formerly of the Urban Bandits) played two Pinoy punk classics from the '80s, "Nagpapapansin" and "No Future sa Pader."
The Jerks also performed two of its popular songs--"Sayaw sa Bubog" and "Rage," which echoed Dylan Thomas' raging "against the dying of the light."
UP's Kontra Gapi also made its presence felt.
"Panahon na para magalit tayong lahat [It's time to be angry]!" vocalist Chikoy Pura told the audience.
Later Pura told the Philippine Daily Inquirer: "We are here not just to perform. At least, we are four more warm bodies. This is the best way to contribute to the movement. We all have a part to play."
Earlier in the day, an interfaith mass officiated by Catholic Bishop Teodoro Bacani, Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, and Protestant pastors from the National Council of Churches was held.
Students from University of the Philippines, Dela Salle University, Ateneo De Manila, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Philippine School of Business Administration, University of Sto. Tomas, University of Asia and the Pacific, among others were present in the rally.
Youth Act Now also hit Arroyo for her "unity walk" with students, saying the real voice of the youth belonged to those present in the protest actions.
"Even if we have examinations, we are here to search for the truth," said Alvin Peters, the group’s spokesman.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines head Angel Lagdameo could not make it due to health reasons, said Cruz.
"He was really looking forward to coming over," said Archbishop Cruz. "He's in the hospital receiving intense medication for a pulmonary ailment. He was very sorry that he could not come. I said he need not go since there were other opportunities to do so. He's sending us his blessing."
Cruz, a staunch critic of Arroyo, called anew for the President to resign.
"This is just to show the administration that it has begun and it also has not ended," said Cruz, adding that protests were not futile.
Bacani repeated a call by the CBCP for Arroyo to "remove all obstructions to the discovery of the truth" behind the broadband deal.
He said Arroyo hasn't yet directed her officials to speak out "no matter who gets hurt, no matter who is involved."
"We are waiting for that," Bacani said.
Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo welcomed the rally as an "exercise of the democratic freedom we all enjoy" but urged the protesters to be responsible "and express themselves in a civilized manner and not resort to name calling." With The Associated Press
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