Big Rally this Friday

[jedi]

Traffic na naman lalo for sure... ano kaya kalalabasan ng rally na ito

Opposition to press for Arroyo’s resignation in Friday rally
February 11, 2008 18:33:00
DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Opposition groups are mounting a demonstration Friday to pressure President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign following the revelations of Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. about the alleged bribes and overpricing tainting the $329-million national broadband network (NBN) contract.

Organizers said on Monday it was too early to tell whether these protests would lead to another People Power uprising to unseat President Macapagal-Arroyo from power.

"People power is never planned. It has its own momentum. What we're trying to see is how widespread public unrest is in terms of warm bodies and expressions," said Bayan Muna (People First) Representative Satur Ocampo.

"We should understand the dynamics of mass movement…The important thing is to open up the venue for people to take action," he said.

Details of the planned rally are still the subject of future talks but opposition leaders indicated it may be held either in Makati City or at Mendiola bridge in Manila.

"The situation is more precarious now for the administration, unlike the time of the ‘Hello Garci controversy’," said lawyer and opposition spokesman Adel Tamano, who spoke for the groups.

The 2005 "Hello Garci" scandal revolved around a recording of a tapped phone conversation, in 2004, between President Macapagal-Arroyo and then Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano about her one-million-vote lead in the presidential election canvass.

"Back then, it was just the opposition versus the administration. Now there's infighting within the administration," he said, citing what he called "cracks" in the ruling party such as the ouster of Representative Jose de Venecia Jr. as House speaker.

On Monday, United Opposition president and Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay called a meeting at Makati city hall with allied groups and activist organizations to discuss their next course of action.

The meeting was attended by, among others, Representatives Crispin Beltran, Liza Maza, and Teofisto Guingona III, San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito, former senators Ernesto Maceda, Leticia Ramos-Shahani and Ernesto Herrera, and opposition leaders Jose “Linggoy” Alcuaz and Rez Cortez.

The top item on the agenda was the opposition's stand on Lozada's revelations implicating top government officials and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to the alleged corruption marring the NBN deal.

Tamano said the groups agreed to stand behind Lozada.

"We're not saying he's perfect or that he's blameless or that he's without blemish. But we support him for telling the truth," he told reporters after the meeting that lasted almost two hours.

He added that the groups also agreed politicians would take a backseat to the people, who should be the ones to air their sentiments, regardless of their station in life.

"It's time for ordinary employees, drivers and teachers to also make their voices be heard," Tamano said.

"We want the people to take the lead. It could be the Rotary Club, or a college debating society, or a barangay association, or a labor group. They just have to make a statement, and it does not even have to be a mass action," he said.

He admitted that the group was initially hesitant about whether to categorically ask the President to resign.

"We had some hesitation because we felt the public might think that it's again [another case of] politicians out to grab power," he said.

But eventually they decided "the situation calls for it," Tamano said.

Ocampo warned the government not to take any drastic action against the demonstration, which would be "within constitutional bounds."

"This is going to be peaceful, lawful and constitutional," Tamano said.

Asked if they would invite former presidents Corazon Aquino or Joseph Estrada to the rally, Tamano said "everybody is welcome."

"Even Lakas of or FVR [former president Fidel V. Ramos] himself is welcome to join us," said Tamano.

[safeorigin]

sana ala nang pasok

[roninblade]

Organizers said on Monday it was too early to tell whether these protests would lead to another People Power uprising to unseat President Macapagal-Arroyo from power.

"People power is never planned. It has its own momentum. What we're trying to see is how widespread public unrest is in terms of warm bodies and expressions," said Bayan Muna (People First) Representative Satur Ocampo.

hmm... this could be the start of a string or rallies.
i hope di na umabot sa isa pang people's power.

kung mapaalis si GMA, sana through due process.
people's power has had its day, IMO.

[buriroy]

OK sana yung layunin ng rally (in support of Jun Lozada's revelations sa ZTE).

Pero if it's the same old clowns (Binay, Jinggoy, JV, Maceda, Satur Ocampo,
etc.) leading it, nakaka turn-off yata.

[baludoy]

^oo nga eh. same old faces w/ the same old agendas. makes me wonder how sincere these wonderful guys are

[jeffrocks]

O paalala lang po doon sa mga dadalo, maging mahinahon at wag maging
violent at wag kalimutang magbaon ng mga kakanin baka kayo'y magutuman,
sana pag igihan mabuti...para sa dolyar

[FrankDrebin]

OK sana yung layunin ng rally (in support of Jun Lozada's revelations sa ZTE).

Pero if it's the same old clowns (Binay, Jinggoy, JV, Maceda, Satur Ocampo,
etc.) leading it, nakaka turn-off yata.

Hehehe. Tapos nandun na naman si Guingona.

[fourtheboys96]

interesting......pupunta kaya lahat ng kampi kay lozada at galit kay GMA?....ready na ba tayo kay noli de castro?....i'm not going

[chilli]

So far our company haven't got any feedback on the upcoming rally. If this will really push through, I'll post a notice here for you guys avoid traffic.

But honestly, di ba parang nakakapagod na if we don't like the President, we always do the "People Power". In my own point of view, parang nawawala na ang essence ng People Power kasi sa mga nangyayari sa gobyerno natin now.

[chilli]

Anti-GMA rallies, prayers set starting Friday
By Jose Rodel Clapano
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Source: http://www.philstar.com/index.php?He...id=20080212119

The United Opposition (UNO) starts this Friday a series of protest rallies calling for the resignation of President Arroyo.

In a telephone interview with The STAR, former ambassador and Senate president Ernesto Maceda said the protest rally will start at 4 p.m. in front of the Ninoy Aquino monument in Makati City.

Meanwhile, former President Corazon Aquino is calling for support and prayers for embattled Senate witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr.

In a text message, Mrs. Aquino said, “Please join us for the Mass for Jun Lozada and his family on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. in La Salle Greenhills gym. Fr. Manoling Francisco S.J. will lead us in the Eucharistic Celebration.”

Maceda, a member of UNO’s committee of elders, said that the opposition has agreed to hold mass protests to intensify the call for the President to step down amid allegations of high-level corruption in her administration. Maceda said Mrs. Arroyo’s days are numbered.

“We feel that probably, it is safe to bet that she will not last for another six months in office,” Maceda said.

He said the opposition’s number one fear, however, is that the military headed by Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. may skirt the Constitution and form a military junta.

“A military junta is a continuing fear because Esperon has a new program called Hakot-Hatak to install himself as the new leader. We hope that if we get the people’s support, the possibility of the military taking advantage of the situation would be thwarted,” Maceda said.

Maceda said the opposition is considering two possible scenarios: “One is for both Arroyo and Vice President Noli de Castro to step down and declare the presidential and vice presidential positions vacant then call for a snap elections. Second is that if De Castro stays, he will call for snap elections for the presidency,” he said.

“But we have not agreed on that yet. Our initial objective is to demand that GMA (Arroyo) resign and action be taken on exposés of high-level corruption. The leftist group, on the other hand, are bringing (up) the issue of rampant extrajudicial killings,” Maceda added.

Maceda said that several opposition congressmen and leaders attended their meeting last Monday, among them Satur Ocampo, Crispin Beltran and Liza Maza and former Vice President Teofisto Guingona.

Maceda said that aside from massive protests, opposition lawmakers will be delivering privilege speeches before the House of Representatives and the Senate to call for Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster.

Pardoned former President Joseph Estrada, however, said he will not join the rallies.
“There are already many of them. I will not be joining the rallies. But definitely I support their objective,” Estrada told The STAR.

But Maceda clarified that Estrada and former President Corazon Aquino will only be absent at the initial stage of the protest actions.

Meantime, Malacañang yesterday called for sobriety in connection with the ongoing Senate investigation into the scrapped $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal that triggered fresh protest actions pressing for President Arroyo’s ouster.
Vice President De Castro, for his part, said he is also very interested in getting to the bottom of the controversy but he would not be joining rallies.

“Like all of us, we are also interested in finding out the truth but if we let emotions prevail, we might make a mistake and regret it later. So there is no need for me to make noise, I will just observe what happens,” De Castro said in Filipino.

He dismissed opposition calls for snap elections as there are no vacancies in the posts of President and Vice President.

“I will not comment on calls for the President to resign because I could be a beneficiary. But as long as everything is done within the Constitution, I will not kill myself just to get to some post,” De Castro said.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said the government fully respects the right of the people to stage protests. “However, they should temper their action with positive action and denounce any attempt of any group to use or be used to destabilize the government.”

She said there was no reason for Mrs. Arroyo to resign since she was not linked to the alleged anomalies in the NBN project.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, in separate interviews, downplayed the threats of mass protest actions but said the government is ready for any eventuality.

“You can be sure the opposition will take advantage of the situation but that’s still normal as far as politics is concerned,” Ermita said.
He said calls for Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster were “old music and I don’t think it’s cause for any surprise.” – With Paolo Romero

[zero]

magsisi-uwi rin ng maaga yang mga magra-rally na yan dahil manonood pa sila ng mga telenovela. kc concepcion pa naman sa MMK. hehehe.....

[oliver1013]

Ok ako sa resign lahat president and VP...senate president muna for the mean time, then snap election..Tas sana 2 party lang para di circus..

[1D4LV]

please... hwag naman sa makati....

[jonski]

Nakakahiya.....

[chilli]

AFP, PNP on red alert for anti-government rally tomorrow
By Michael Punongbayan
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Source: http://www.philstar.com/index.php?He...id=20080213202

The Armed Forces of the Philippines had upgraded to full red alert status effective last night not just because of the scheduled rally on Friday but because of intelligence reports that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) will take advantage of the situation.

Reports reaching the AFP said that the CPP-NPA will deploy their members to the National Capital Region to infiltrate the ranks of the rallyists to create confusion and an atmosphere of chaos.

National Capital Regional Command spokesman Capt. Carlo Ferrer advised rally organizers to police their own ranks to avoid infiltration.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr., on the other hand, warned that they would strictly enforce the “no permit, no rally” policy.
“We will allow them to air their grievances against the government but it should be within the bounds of the law,” said Razon.

He also directed Metro police chief Director Geary Barias to coordinate with the rally leaders and relay to them their guidelines to ensure a peaceful and orderly protest rally.

“We will deliver to them (rally leaders) our wishes while we also want to hear what they want so there would be no violent confrontation between the police and the rallyists,” Razon said during a press briefing in Camp Crame.

The PNP remained on normal alert yesterday but Razon admitted their alert status would change before the protest rally on Friday, depending on reports filtering in from the PNP and military intelligence units.

Razon advised the rally leaders to secure the necessary permits from local government units (LGUs) so they can proceed with their planned protest rallies in Metro Manila.

Lozada won’t join rally

Senate star witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr. yesterday deplored the raid on his Philippine Forest Corp. office and the ongoing demolition job against him, but maintained that he would not join the scheduled anti-government rallies to avoid security problems and allegations that he was being used by the opposition to oust President Arroyo.

Lozada also said he would not be cowed by moves to assail his credibility and that he would continue his testimony at the Senate and say everything he knows about anomalies in government deals.
Officials of the Philippine National Police, on the other hand, will meet today with protest organizers to establish guidelines for a peaceful and orderly mass action, even as 300 policemen are poised to be deployed to secure the Makati City Central Business District.

Hundreds of protesters are expected to converge at the Ninoy Aquino Monument located at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas for the activity on Friday.
Makati City Police chief Superintendent Gilbert Cruz said city hall has issued rally permits that would allow participating groups to occupy a portion of the busy intersection from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Cause-oriented groups like the Black and White Movement, Bayan, and Gabriela are expected to join the rally.

“We will be there to ensure a peaceful activity,” Cruz told The STAR, noting that the Makati City Police will be on alert and will tighten security measures at the CBD starting today, which incidentally marks the anniversary of the 2005 Valentine’s Day bombing.

The Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage), on the other hand, will celebrate Valentine’s Day by spearheading a mass action on Mendiola Bridge to demand a P3,000 across-the-board monthly pay hike for state workers.

Courage president Ferdi Gaite has assailed Mrs. Arroyo for recently proposing a meager 10-percent salary increase to some 1.4-million government workers, instead of approving their proposed pay hike.

Gaite said Mrs. Arroyo was just employing “carrot and stick” tactics for government employees as “fresh report of conspiracy and corruption scandals rock her administration.”

He claimed the announcement was made in time with the ongoing Senate investigation on the overpriced and bribe-ridden $329-million national broadband network and the abduction of Lozada “who happens to be a government personnel.”
“It’s a cheap attempt to buy off the loyalty of the 1.4 million government employees. We have been pressing for a pay hike of P3,000 across-the-board because we have been reeling from our starvation pay,” he noted.

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[vctradingcubao]

, gusto ko sana sumama sa rally sa friday, kaya lang, kung yung makakatabi at makikita ko dun eh yung mga Erap boys din lang, eh di bale na. kung si Jun lang sana andun at mga pari at madre, eh baka mas marami pa ang pumunta.

Di pa ba nare realized nila Maceda na kaya di nila mapaalis si Gloria (sa tulong ng mass actions) eh kasi sila mismo yung sumisigaw!