Reihana Mohideen, Manila
Around 65,000 people filled the streets of the business district in Makati on July 13, demanding that Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) step down. The protesters also rejected her constitutional successor, Vice-President Noli de Castro.
This was the largest rally yet calling for GMA's resignation, and unlike previous mobilisations was composed mainly of workers and the urban poor. The demonstration was organised by three main political groupings: the united left coalition Laban ng Masa; the national democratic left bloc Bayan; and the United Opposition of supporters of former President Joseph Estrada, Makati Mayor Binay and other politicians.
Bayan and United Opposition speakers at the rally mainly focussed on calls for Arroyo to resign. The United Opposition also calls for a Caretaker Council, mainly to be composed of elite politicians and some token representation from the left. Bayan's governmental alternatives are unclear and it seems to be open to the option of a de Castro succession.
Laban ng Masa speakers put forward the demand "Resign all! Not just GMA". Sonny Melencio from the Filipino Workers Solidarity Union (BMP) called for Arroyo to be ousted through a people's uprising and for the formation of a transitional revolutionary government, composed of a coalition of anti-Arroyo forces that would overhaul the current political system, including the electoral system, and implement immediate reforms in the interest of the masses.
One of the conveners of Laban ng Masa is Francisco Nemenzo, a long-time socialist activist and recently retired president of the University of the Philippines. Nemenzo spoke at the rally, and has been reported frequently in the Philippines media calling for a transitional revolutionary government comprising non-politicians such as anti-GMA campaigner Susan Roces-Poe, progressive social scientist Randy David, economist Walden Bello and columnist Conrad de Quiroz.
Nemenzo was quoted as saying that the government "is now mortally wounded and cannot govern effectively". He rejected a changing of guards inside the current government, typical of the earlier people's power uprisings, "with one rival elite faction replacing another but with no meaningful democratic reforms". Laban ng Masa also rejects the prospects of a restoration of former president Estrada and a militarist junta, "which is more likely to succeed with US instigation and support".
A Moro National Liberation Front representative, who is also a member of Laban ng Masa, also addressed the rally. One of the highlights of the protest was the attendance of Susan Roces, who was cheated out of the presidency in the last elections. She is considered to be a rallying figure for the anti-Arroyo
opposition because of her popularity among the urban poor. However, in her speech she failed to call for GMA to resign or for the protests to be escalated.
The street protests are set to intensify leading up to July 25, when Arroyo will be presenting her State of the Nation address to the Congress. The left is planning for massive demonstrations on the day. The build-up will include a transport strike, factory walkouts and demonstrations organised by labour groups and women's organisations.
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, July 20, 2005.
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