Consumers Domain
By Ian Seruelo

Gloria Valentina

“ Work and struggle and never accept an evil that you can change. ”

—Andre Gide

What's happening to our government? What is this happening to President Gloria? It seems that her true colors are becoming more apparent. Well its not as if we don't know what she's really made of, but now the picture is much clearer.

Days ago several youth activists in Quezon City was charged with inciting to sedition for posting anti-Gloria campaign posters which call for a nationwide protest on June 30.

And not contented with that, the NBI even raided the printing press that produced the posters, confiscated computers, arrested at least two of its staff and threatened to file sedition charges against its owners too.

The national day of protest, being organized by a newly formed movement called LUMABAN KA! (Lumalabang Mamamayan sa harap ng Krisis at Kahirapan), aims to highlight the people's demands on various issues plaguing the country such as the continued prioritization of debt payments over the provision of social and economic services, power and water rates increases, additional taxes, rising prices of basic commodities, toll fees, tuition fees, etc.

Spearheaded by the Freedom form Debt Coalition (FDC), LUMABAN KA! has planned the said day of protest long before the “jueteng” and “Gloriagate tape” scandals surfaced.

The poster is a picture of Valentina (that evil lady with snakes as hair) but the face was that of Gloria. Under the picture aptly written is “President Evil”. Well this kind of lampooning is a common creative way of protest and advocacy.

Now, what in heaven's name is this?! What happened to freedom of expression that is guaranteed by our Constitution? Is it seditious now to criticize the President of the Republic, call her “evil”? Is it seditious now to call for a day of protest? Is it seditious now to critique the government and encourage your fellow Filipinos to demand for genuine changes in the government, its system and policies?

FDC is right in asserting that this is purely political harassment and a suppression of our basic human right to freely express our sentiments and grievances against the government.

This makes me ashamed of being an Ilonggo in the sense that next to Cebu, Gloria got the highest votes here in Iloilo. What makes this thing worse for us is that Gloria's rabid tool in her effort to harass her administration's critics is also an Ilonggo in the person of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez.

But well in second thought maybe she won here in Iloilo because she also had a “Hello, Garci” type of operations here in Panay. But well that's another interesting story.

To my editor and to all journalists and my colleagues in the media, I hope this development is not a prelude to an intensified effort of Gloria Valentina to suppress the freedom of expression we all so cherished.

Below, this column would like to accommodate an excerpt of the press statement of LUMABAN KA! 

We are not cowed. We will persist.

There were already shades of martial law during the past few days, yesterday, and probably more in the coming days as the desperate GMA administration try to insulate itself from what it claims as purely destabilization attempts to topple her government.

We saw in the past few days Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales wield the old weapon of intimidation he learned from the Marcos regime by foisting anti-sedition charges against the wide range of forces now opposing the GMA regime and who are calling for her ouster.

In the past few days we saw the DOJ, the NBI, the National Telecommunications Commission, and the police become reckless and unthinking tools of the Arroyo administration, unmindful of the fact that things might be proven otherwise -- that they could have been serving the wishes of an unlawful and illegitimate government.

We saw in the last few days the arrests of and filing of anti-sedition charges against youth activists for posting anti-GMA posters along Kalayaan Avenue in Quezon City. Furthermore, we saw the media threatened by the DOJ and NTC for airing the “Tape”.

We also saw yesterday a printing press raided by the NBI for printing “Valentina”, a lampoon poster portraying GMA as an evil incarnate pestering the lives of Filipino people. The NBI team, during the raid, pulled out all the computers and arrested two hapless workers and is planning to file anti-sedition charges against the owner of the printing press.

WE CONDEMN ALL THESE. This is political harassment. This is political repression.

Is GMA so berserk she now finds no distinction between sedition and the freedom of expression of our people? Is she so isolated from the people she finds no recourse but to rely on the support of the DOJ, the NBI, the NTC, the PNP and the military?

We believe so. Such is always the case of a President who had no clear mandate. Such is always the case of a President so despised by the people for being anti-poor and tutelage of foreign interests. Such is always a case of a regime that is so much beleaguered by intra-elite politics.

That is why we are fighting for change. Not only in the Office of the President but in the whole government. And for this, we vow to continue and intensify our protests against poverty, the crisis and against the Arroyo regime.

We will not be cowed. We will fight for our rights. We will fight for an alternative people's government. We will persist.

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Greetings to all my papangs and mamangs in the University of Iloilo College of Law – Ian, Wency, Julius, Tibur, Nikos, Christian, Jaja, R'nell, Mala, Joy, Section B pipol and all the rest I failed to mention. Banat mga papangs kag mamangs!

(For comments and reactions send SMS to 0919-348-6337 or email to ianseruelo@yahoo.com.)