Anakpawis warns Arroyo from repeating PP1017, illegal arrests to quell legitimate dissentAnother people power is on the rise and has gained so much momentum that it cannot be stopped.
Thus, asserted Cherry Clemente, Anakpawis Secretary General, in a huge rally in Manila this afternoon to commemorate and relive the people power of 1986 which assembled more than a million Filipinos in EDSA and led to the ouster of former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos.
“Our country is in the brink of another historic uprising. The similarities of present and past events are chilling. The church, the youth and the middle forces are once again standing-up against an immoral, corrupt and tyrannical regime. They are no longer fence-sitters but active protagonists in the call for change. Mrs. Arroyo must be trembling like a leaf in the thought that this situation will make her the third president to be placed in a most shameful place in our country’s history.”
“She’s terribly mistaken when she made her self-serving pronouncement that she, and no one else, is president and that the world will not forgive an EDSA III. She’s the least person one would expect to speak in behalf of the world. She cannot even speak in behalf of her own country. The statements she gave can only come from a very insecure president extremely terrified of her imminent downfall. ”
Clemente said that the recent revelations of Engr. Jun Lozada and Joey de Venecia served as a spark which triggered bigger street rallies and mass demonstrations. “Unlike in the past seven years, it is easier now for us to enjoin people to attend rallies. People have become more enthusiastic in going to the streets. They are neither tired to participate nor afraid of the threats that the Arroyo regime have been propagating. This may just be ‘it’ for her!”
Meanwhile, Clemente warned the Arroyo administration against employing terror tactics to undermine the people’s democratic right to assemble and organize. She recalled the illegal arrest by the PNP-CIDG of Anakpawis Representative and staunch opposition leader Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran exactly two years ago. She said that Ka Bel was arrested after the unconstitutional declaration of state of emergency through Presidential Proclamation 1017. Clemente said that PP1017 was meant to justify arrests of known militant leaders and military officers who were about to abandon their posts and join the call for Arroyo to step down.
“We must remain vigilant and guard our democratic rights. We are fully aware of how far Arroyo can go to save herself. But we must defeat her evil machinations by all means. In the coming days, Mrs. Arroyo may try to make a repeat of PP1017 but she will fail because our voices are louder now since there are more people marching and shouting in the streets. And this time, she has lesser friends to help her.”
Anakpawis will also join the rally in Ayala, Makati organized by different organizations calling for the ouster of Mrs. Arroyo on February 29 where they expect to assemble more than enough people to make the knees of the people in Malacañang shake like earthquake. ###
