GMA ‘snubs’ Edsa rites; protests mark people power

February 26, 2008

President Arroyo yesterday skipped the celebration of the 22nd anniversary of people power at the People Power monument in Edsa, Quezon City, as thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets to demand the resignation.

The President, during a speech in Caloocan City where she led the distribution of cash cards for the Ahon Pamilyang Pilipino (APP) program, said she chose to spend the commemoration of Edsa I this way because “the true spirit of people power lies in uplifting the lives of the poorest of the poor.”

Armored vehicles inside the military headquarters in Manila, tanks and armored personnel carriers, however, were on standby to thwart any violence, as crowds converged around the capital Manila and central and southern cities.

Calls for the President to quit have been mounting after Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada Jr. testified in a Senate inquiry early this month that First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo and a political ally, former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., tried to get billions in kickbacks from a telecoms deal with a Chinese firm that was suspended last year.

Ousted Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. also yesterday joined clamor for the President to step down from power for losing the moral basis to lead the country.

Leaders of the Catholic Church as well as former President Corazon Aquino earlier urged Mrs. Arroyo to resign.

De Venecia was quoted as saying he asked the President to lead his moral revolution giving her 100 days to do so “but she blew her chance.”

In Manila, around 4,000 marchers carried banners and placards calling Mrs. Arroyo “Evil” and demanding that she step down.

The protesters were led by militant leftist group Bayan and were joined by labor groups, religious organizations and students.

“The present regime has totally avoided any accountability over issues of corruption,” Bayan head Renato Reyes said.

“Our best hope that reforms will be advanced … is if the people can muster the strength to advance their interests,” he added.

Similar protests also took place in the southern cities of Zamboanga and Iligan, where participants burned pictures of the President.

Mrs. Aquino also yesterday joined leaders of the church in a special Mass in support of the protest.

In Mandaluyong City, police were caught flat-footed as thousands of anti-Arroyo protesters ran toward the Edsa Shrine despite it being declared as a “no-rally zone” by authorities.

Led by party-list Rep. Etta Rosales (Akbayan), the group, that include members from the Freedom from Debt Coalition, Sanlakas, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and Muslim groups Bisig and Bangsamoro, were able to approach the Edsa Shrine around 3 in the afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Bishops Deogracias Iñiguez and Teodoro Bacani presided over a Mass held inside the shrine and later joined the protesters.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, also yesterday said the mass actions, either anti-government or pro-government, in the different parts of Metro Manila were generally peaceful.

PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Nicanor Bartolome, during a media briefing, said PNP Chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. personally monitored the conduct of mass actions, particularly in the areas of Mendiola and Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, Edsa Shrine and Baclaran Church in Paranaque City to ensure that police authorities were effective in maintaining peace and order in those areas.

At the Baclaran Church , PNP Task Force Kapayapaan head Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao Jr. said there were around 500 persons who attended the Mass for Truth that started around 3 p.m.

More than 500 policemen were deployed in the surrounding areas of the Baclaran Church to prevent the possible outbreak of violence, he added. Gina Peralta-Elorde, Tesa Gaila Medina, PNA and AFP

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