Biggest
turnout
in weeks

MAKATI CITY — Groups calling on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign or face ouster staged their biggest rally in this city, with participants estimated to number from 40,000 to 65,000, since the jueteng payola and “Hello Garcia” scandals broke out.

The turnout doused Palace hopes the campaign for Mrs. Arroyo’s removal from office has lost steam after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’s decision not to support calls for Mrs. Arroyo to step down.

Earlier, protest rallies were attended by not more than 10,000 people.

Wednesday’s rally brought together leftists, supporters of Fernando Poe Jr. and former President Joseph Estrada, opposition parties, the Bangon Pilipino movement of Bro. Eddie Villanueva, civil society groups and students.

“The massive mobilization at Ayala will put to rest the myth of people power fatigue. The people are not tired of ‘people power’ per se. But they are tired of broken promises and corrupt regimes that take advantage of the people’s movement,” said Renato Reyes, secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).

“We’re relying on mobilizing huge numbers so the President will be forced to step down.”

Susan Roces said she would not let her husband’s supporters down and would join all protest actions until Mrs. Arroyo stepped down.

“Ibalik natin ang dignidad ng Pilipino,” Roces told protesters who gathered around the Ninoy Aquino Shrine at Paseo de Roxas and Ayala avenues.

She said she sympathizes with the hardships of the people.

She warned against moves to amend the Constitution which she said would prolong the term of Mrs. Arroyo.

Roces arrived shortly before 7 p.m.
People nearly swamped the makeshift stage as they crowded around Roces, chanting “Susan! Susan! Susan!”

She was escorted to the stage by former Defense Secretary Renato de Villa, House Minority Leader Francis Escudero, former Sen. Francisco Tatad, lawyer Frank Chavez, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.

During the commotion, Rep. Rodolfo Plaza and three reporters lost their cell phones.
Police placed the crowd at 40,000. Organizers gave a figure of 65,000.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Mrs. Arroyo should resign now. “Kailangang itama natin ang mali. The position does not properly belong to her. She should give it back to the people,” Lacson said.

“She cheated, she lied. All the things that a president should not do, she did,” he added.
Lacson, Makati Rep. Agapito Aquino and former Rep. Carlos Padilla and members of Lacson’s Be Not Afraid movement, marched from Landmark on Makati Avenue to the rally site.

He said Mrs. Arroyo should heed the call for her resignation and not wait for mass actions to lead to her ouster.

He said members of the opposition met Tuesday night to map out plans. “We had a meeting of minds...we all agreed that Gloria should step down, not tomorrow but now.”
Lacson said he does not favor Vice President Noli de Castro’s assumption of the presidency should Mrs. Arroyo resign but he is not asking for De Castro’s resignation.

“We are having election returns checked. He could also be involved in cheating,” he said.

Asked who will replace Mrs. Arroyo, Lacson said: “That will be decided by those who want her to resign.”

Former President Corazon Aquino did not attend the rally. Her spokeswoman Deedee Siytangco in a television interview said while Aquino has called for Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster, she wants it done through the constitutional process.

Movie personalities Lorna Tolentino, Sheryl Cruz, Armida Siguion-Reyna, Rez Cortez, Alma Moreno, Bibeth Orteza, Cris Villonco and film director Joel Lamangan took turns at the stage calling for Mrs. Arroyo to step down.

Loudspeakers blared with the telephone conversations between Mrs. Arroyo and former Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Analysts have said a crowd above 20,000 may signal rising rage against Mrs. Arroyo put her on the back foot after former President Fidel Ramos came to her rescue last week and the CBCP did not join calls for her to quit.

But analysts said Mrs. Arroyo would not be under immediate threat unless protests grew larger and more frequent.

One businessman said the key would be whether workers in surrounding office towers joined the marchers in the streets.

“It depends on the quality of the crowd,” he said. “If they see the usual rent-a-mob then I think they’ll disregard it.”

Military and police officials remained on red alert, citing intelligence reports that communist groups and the Abu Sayyaf might join the rally.

Rally organizers said thousands of protesters from Calabarzon region, the Bicol Region and Eastern Visayas bound for Makati were stopped by the military and police in checkpoints.

The Bicol-Eastern Visayas group decided to hold their program in Sipocot town where they were stopped.

The Calabarzon contingent was allowed to pass through.

Bayan-Southern Tagalog said more than 600 protesters from Laguna and Quezon on board 30 passenger jeeps were prevented by police from getting out of the San Pedro exit of the South Luzon Expressway but were allowed to proceeds after a three-hour wait.

Police and soldiers from the Army’s 202nd Infantry Brigade inspected vehicles entering the northbound portion of the Calamba exit of the expressway, resulting in heavy traffic.
Twenty-three passenger jeeps with 500 protesters from Cavite and Batangas were also stopped at a police checkpoint in Bacoor town, Cavite, around noon.
The protesters, belonging to peasant and workers’ organizations, were later allowed to proceed to the rally.

In Cebu, demonstrators who staged a rally at the Malacañang in the South were dispersed by the police, organizers said.
Philippine National Police spokesman Chief Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil said checkpoints were set up to prevent destabilizers and armed groups from infiltrating the rally.
He denied that the checkpoints were meant to block the entry of rallyists to Makati.

“Our checkpoints in the provinces are meant to assure travelers that there will be no infiltration by armed groups because the (New People’s Army) is planning an operation. This is for security,” he said in a television interview.

The Communist Party of the Philippines denied it would infiltrate rallies, adding that the allegations were “outright lies meant to justify the use of force and dissuade people from joining street rallies.”

Filipino migrant workers in several countries also held mass actions simultaneous with the Makati rally, said Migrante chairwoman Connie Bragas-Regalado.

She said the mass actions took place in Hong Kong, Italy, Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Macau, Palau, New Zealand, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

“We have long suffered from the various anti-OFW and anti-people policies that have worsened under the Arroyo regime. From negligent diplomatic posts, the violent repression of dissent and runaway price hikes in oil, basic commodities and services, this administration has worsened the already miserable lives of our people,” said Regalado.

Regalado said Migrante was rejecting the calls for charter change and federalism. “Before anything else, Gloria should step down and account for her actions.”

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said they were prepared as early as June for demonstrations which he said would climax on July 25 when Mrs. Arroyo makes her state of the nation address.

Ermita said the mass actions held Wednesday and last June 12, 29, 30 and July 1 and 13 were all part of an “experiment” to determine if they could muster enough crowd in for the SONA.
He said even the presence of Roces failed to enhance the attendance in the rally.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye shrugged off the one million-crowd target of the opposition, claiming that the most that the anti-Arroyo rallyists have mustered was 5,000.

Ermita said the President was not overly concerned about the rallies.

“Masasabi nating sanay na ang kanyang kalooban na harapin itong mga ganitong pagkakataon. Hindi natin masasabi na hindi siya nababahala, ngunit masasabi ko lamang may kompiyansa ang ating Pangulo sa mga ahensiya ng ating pamahlaan lalo sa ating mga security forces to be able to handle the situation so that we have peace and order,” Ermita said.

At least four truckloads of soldiers were deployed around the Palace to augment the Western Police District and the Presidential Security Group members who were all in full battle gear.

Mrs. Arroyo also limited her appointments in the Palace which included receiving manifestos of support from the Metro Manila Councilors, the municipal officers of Laguna and the barangay officials of Kalinga.