CORY, SUSAN STORM CONGRESS
[PHOTO
AT LEFT - Thousands of anti-Arroyo demonstrators march along Commonwealth Avenue
on the way to the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City to demand the
resignation of President Arroyo after the House plenary voted to kill all three
impeachment complaints against her. Photo by VAL RODRIGUEZ]
MANILA, September 7, 2005 (STAR) By Delon Porcalla - Thousands of protesters led by former President Corazon Aquino — a key moral figure and leader of past popular uprisings — stormed Congress yesterday, where legislators defeated moves to impeach President Arroyo.
The opposition had warned that dismissing the impeachment charges could trigger a new people power revolt. The 236-seat House of Representatives — overwhelmingly dominated by pro-Arroyo legislators — upheld the justice committee’s decision to throw out all three impeachment complaints against her.
Carrying placards reading "Oust Gloria," several thousand members of the Coalition for the Truth, an alliance of civil society and groups from both sides of the political spectrum, marched towards Congress after hearing Mass at St. Peter’s Church 1.5 kilometers away.
Quezon City Police District director Chief Superintendent Nicasio Radovan estimated only 7,000 protesters.
About half a kilometer away from Congress, a phalanx of riot police near two buses blocking the road stopped the marchers, but police officials allowed Aquino and other protest leaders to pass.
Aquino, 72, marched with Susan Roces, widow of Mrs. Arroyo’s main rival, Fernando Poe Jr., in last year’s election.
Aquino was catapulted to power when the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted by an military-backed people power revolt in February 1986. She co-led a similar revolt that topped Mrs. Arroyo’s predecessor, Joseph Estrada, in January 2001.
Aquino and Roces drew crowds, but the turnout yesterday was just a fraction of the massive people power demonstrations in the past.
The rally drew together former foes: former vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr., Sen. Panfilo Lacson, leftist radicals, resigned Arroyo Cabinet officials, Aquino’s daughters and three opposition lawmakers.
Lacson, who joined Aquino and Roces in the gallery, was among those who booed as a House staffer read the "approval" of the report that earlier junked the impeachment complaints.
As Minority Leader Francis Escudero was acknowledging the plenary report — where 158 lawmakers voted to throw out the complaints and 51 minority members wanted them elevated to the Senate for trial — anti-Arroyo forces walked out of the session hall.
"We accept and respect your decision but we do not agree with it. We are saddened by the results," he told other congressmen.
Aquino, whose son Tarlac Rep. Benigno Aquino III was among those who signed the impeachment complaint, said she only had good words for the congressmen who voted against the dismissal of the complaints.
"I salute the 51 congressmen who voted no. It’s not over yet. There will always be hope. My position has not changed," she told journalists as their group gathered around the flagpole in front of the main building of Congress.
Aquino said she was overwhelmed by the number of people who greeted them as they marched towards the Batasang Pambansa complex.
"I never thought (the crowd) was that huge. When you realize you are not alone, you grow stronger," she said and reminded reporters that she has gone through worse — martial law during the time of Marcos. "Sanay tayo diyan (We are used to it)."
Reiterating her call for Mrs. Arroyo to step down, Aquino said she hopes "we will get to the truth. That’s what we’re all asking for. We lost, probably yes, but we still need to band together."
Mrs. Arroyo is accused of rigging last year’s election, along with bribery, corruption and other crimes. She has denied any wrongdoing and has refused to resign.
When asked if another popular uprising could force Mrs. Arroyo to step down, Roces said it was up to the Filipino people to decide.
She nevertheless expressed disgust over the House plenary vote junking the impeachment complaints, saying (in Filipino): "We may never know the truth. They do not want us to know. They want us to remain ignorant, to lead us by the nose. That is the kind of justice that prevails in our country."
Other personalities who joined Aquino and Roces were Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, resigned social welfare secretary Corazon Soliman, televangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva and San Juan Mayor Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito.
Former education secretary Florencio Abad was also with the group, along with Lito Banayo, RC Constantino, Carol Araullo, actress Sheryl Cruz and Poe’s brother Conrad Poe.
The 51 congressmen who signed the impeachment complaint later joined the protesters. They held an impromptu prayer meeting at the flagpole, sang "Ama Namin" and "Bayan Ko," and lit black candles.
Some minority bloc congressmen even shed tears — notably Reps. Darlene Antonino-Custodio of South Cotabato, Justin Mark Chipeco of Laguna, Joel Villanueva of the Cibac party-list group, and Florencio Noel of the An Waray party-list group.
San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora turned over all the impeachment documents to the militant labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, saying, "I hope you can put them to better use."
The militant group Alliance of Concerned Teachers said they plan to hold more protest rallies in coordination with other anti-Arroyo groups.
Move forward
Speaker Jose de Venecia said it is about time that both the opposition and administration camps end the impeachment issue and move forward.
"With this vote, we should now bring all the forces in the country together and work to effect true reconciliation," he said.
Pro-administration Cagayan de Oro Rep. Constantino Jaraula said Philippine presidents have always faced ouster moves, except for former President Fidel Ramos.
"Cory didn’t face impeachment but seven coups and two pocket rebellions. These all point to a sympathetic defect. Even if we put a saint or angel in Malacañang, we’ll face this recurring problem," said Jaraula, a proponent of Charter change.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, one of Mrs. Arroyo’s economic advisers, said he voted to dismiss the complaints because "it is on the right side of history and it is the clear and collective wish of my constituents, who overwhelmingly voted for (her) in 2004."
"While she is neither a saint nor an angel, she is no devil the minority laboriously tried to portray yet miserably tried to prove. Given her legal and legitimate mandate, she remains the most viable option to move the country forward from evolving economic difficulties," he added.
Some senators, however, said the allegations brought against Mrs. Arroyo are far from resolved.
Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile said pro-impeachment congressmen failed to persuade their colleagues to sign the impeachment complaint, so "the issue is still unresolved as far as the country is concerned."
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said the public "was given a glimpse of what probably is the truth," but Congress failed to provide a conclusive resolution on the allegations against the President.
Sen. Pia Cayetano said the House’s decision to uphold the justice committee’s findings "effectively told the world, told our children, our people that it’s okay to do something wrong because you can just sweep it under the rug."
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, however, said the House ruling is "very auspicious news for our country on the eve of the departure of (Mrs.) Arroyo to preside at the summit meeting of the (United Nations) Security Council. Now she can say that her voice is the voice of the country. She can put behind her problem regarding her legitimacy as president."
League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) president and Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado appealed to Aquino’s "sense of statesmanship and patriotism" and urged her to distance herself from street rallies, "which are counterproductive and divisive for the nation."
LPP chairman Nueva Ecija Gov. Tomas Joson told Aquino to attend to the problems in her own backyard, referring to the labor problems experienced by Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac last year, leading to the deaths of some laborers.
With the impeachment complaints dismissed, local government officials asked congressmen to focus on more fundamental issues such as the looming oil crisis and the passage of the 2006 national budget that includes P166 billion in internal revenue allotment for local government units and another P5 billion to boost the delivery of basic services at the local level. — With Marvin Sy, Katherine Adraneda, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Sandy Araneta, AP