Iloilo militants hold final protest vs GMA
Militant groups led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Panay held a farewell street action yesterday against outgoing President Gloria Arroyo.
BAYAN-Panay in a statement said the action is a celebration as the Arroyo administration failed in her several attempts to stay in power and that she must be held accountable for the crimes she committed against the Filipino people.
“Arroyo gave us one of the worst nine years in our nation’s history. Gross corruption, human rights abuses, election fraud, economic plunder and puppetry to foreign dictates cannot be simply swept under the rug. We cannot pretend that the scandals of the last nine years never happened. There has to be accountability,” Hope Hervilla, BAYAN-Panay chairperson, said.
The militants also challenged the new administration of President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III to prosecute Arroyo, as the group marched along the major streets of Iloilo City carrying a huge painting of Arroyo.
“We also hope the new administration will fulfill its promise to hold the Arroyo government accountable. The people’s demand for the ouster of Arroyo from the period 2001 to 2009 is a manifestation of the unpopularity of her presidency. We hope President Aquino will not fail us,” Hervilla added.
After the despedida march, the group held a short program where different groups expressed their challenge to the new government.
Various sectors presented their agenda to President Aquino. These include better social services in education, health, and housing, and protection to the Philippine economy by doing away with liberalization, deregulation and privatization.
They also called for decent wages, more jobs and job security for the country’s labor force, justice for all the victims of human rights violations, and a genuine land reform program geared towards national industrialization.
“Here in Panay, we hope that that the newly-elected local government officials will immediately resolve the issues of alleged power shortage and the privatization of basic utilities like water. Rotating brownouts disrupt the economic activity of our people. We hope that these will be among the major concerns of our local leaders,” Hervilla said.
“As we bid Arroyo goodbye, we will still remain vigilant on how the next administration will hold Arroyo accountable. We will also continue to forward the people’s interests and welfare should the Aquino government fail to full its promise,” she added.
