Accents
Si Hope, si Sharon, si Julie Ann, si Joy James, atbp.
Writing down the names of the Charter change (Cha-Cha) dissenters in the July 27 Lakbayan cum demo will fill up my column space for weeks, I wouldn’t know when the list would end. Hope and Sharon, Julie Ann and Joy James represent the thousands upon thousands who braved heat and rain in a show of force against the Cha-Cha, the mocking acronym underhandedly poised by the Nograles bandwagon to run roughshod on the Constitution.
Listing the legion of dissenters reminds me of the syndicated political cartoonist Garry Trudeau whose two comic strips I had come across with in the San Francisco Chronicle contained the names of the American soldiers killed in the Iraq war. For all I know, Trudeau may have more such lists of American war casualties that now total more than 4,000 since the onset of the Iraq war in March 2003. Enumerating the Cha-Cha dissenters, I could certainly outdo Garry Trudeau name for name if that alone were the basis. My list would be of tsunami proportions that would render one Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo but a flotsam in the deluge. Trudeau had two rifles designed as a cross at the end of his list of the dead. I could end my own list of protesters with the clenched fist held high and mighty to do battle with those who would tamper with the Constitution.
July 27 was a picture of opposites. While Arroyo was gloriously rah-r-r-a-h-h-ed by her minions in the halls of congress, she was ungloriously thrashed in the parliament of the streets. In Iloilo, members of militant organizations demonstrated against Charter change in a two-day Lakad para sa Bayan or Lakbayan, a walk to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution. Damnation to the snakes in the grass who would tread on it—reducing the fundamental law of the land into a mere scrap of paper.
Activists and progressives from Miag-ao and nearby towns converged in Guimbal, the starting point of the Lakbayan in southern Iloilo. Another group coming from several towns started the walk in Cabatuan. Students in the city came and swelled the crowd in the provincial capitol grounds, culmination point of the protest march. Speech after speech were interspersed by booming denunciations, songs and dance and other cultural shows. Satirically performed was the administration’s insidious Cha-cha beat, putting to shame the Cha-Cha dancers in the halls of congress and their so-called parliamentary system. Exposed were cunning maneuvers that reflect the astute and shrewd Arroyo persona and her insatiable desire to stay in power.
And so we remember… We continue to breathe the impure air, poisoned by questions of legitimacy and credibility of the Malacanang occupant, culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, electoral fraud and cover-up (“Hello, Garci”), graft and corruption (Hi, Joc-Joc, the ZTE deal or no deal), torture, desaparecidos, and extrajudicial killings. Pervasive poverty and hunger. SONA ni Ate Glo? Or the unSONA of the street parliamentarians?
Ala Garry Trudeau, let me just name the militant organizations which participated in the July 27 unSONA to show the real state of our nation: Bayan Muna, Gabriela (General Assembly Binding Women in Reform, Integrity, Equality, Liberty and Action), AnakPawis, Kabataan party-list, Kadamay (Kalipunan ng Nadamayang Mahihirap), Courage (Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees), Act (Association of Concerned Teachers), Migrante, Madia-as Ecological Movement, Kaisog (Katilingban sang Imol sa Siudad), IFI (Iglesia Filipina Independiente), LFS (League of Filipino Students), Piston-Drivers, PFTC (Panay Fair Trade Center), Selda (Samahan ng mga Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya), NUPL (National Union of People’s Lawyers), ILAC (Iloilo Legal Assistance Center), NUJP (National Union of Journalists of the Philippines), Sotana (Seminarians), PCPR (Promotion of Church People’s Response), Pamanggas (Paghugpong sang Mangunguma sa Panay kag Guimaras), Kamao (Oton farmers), Tumanduk (Tumanduk nga Mangunguma nga Nagapangapin sa Duta kag Kabuhi), and did I miss one or two or several others to show that indeed the protesters are legions? Please tell me, if I did.
Stay informed. See the enumerations. Stand your ground. Remember EDSA 1. Hindi kayo nag-iisa. (Email: lagoc@hargray.com)