CPP sees even bigger rallies to come

July 14, 2005

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said that yesterday's demonstration in Makati City as well as mass actions in several key cities nationwide signal a groundswell in the anti-Arroyo protest movement. CPP spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said protests are bound to grow bigger until they achieve their objective of effecting the resignation or ouster of both Gloria Arroyo and her vice president Noli de Castro.

Rosal noted the broad spectrum of social sectors that participated in the Makati demonstration. "Aside from militant democratic organizations, workers, urban poor and students, there were many church people, professionals, artists, movie actors, politicians and other personalities."

He said that the Philipine National Police failed in its efforts to scare off people from joining the rallies through threats, psywar and so-called intelligence reports about violence from infiltrators. He deplored the police and military for setting up checkpoints that blocked rallyists from the Bicol region, Batangas, Laguna, Bulacan and Pampanga.

"Malaca�ang used the worn-out terrorist bogey as a pretext to harass and arrest some rally participants from the provinces who were on their way to Manila," Rosal said. Despite the checkpoints, however, many anti-Arroyo demonstrators from the provinces still made it to the Makati demonstration.

The July 13 rallies came on top of other mounting indications of Arroyo's faltering rule. Rosal noted that "survey after survey reveal that fewer and fewer people are able to stomach Malaca�ang's public relations spins to justify Arroyo's stay in power. Malaca�ang's well-oiled propaganda machine has failed to assuage the people's anger and stem the rising tide of people's power."

Rosal twitted Malaca�ang apologists who cynically declared that the Makati mobilization failed to reach the numbers of EDSA 1 and 2. "The groundswell has begun," he said. Saan pa ba ito patutungo kundi sa panibagong pag-aalsang tulad ng EDSA? (Where else will this lead to if not to another EDSA-like uprising?)."

Rosal, however, called on the people to be vigilant about Arroyo's further moves. "In her desperate desire to cling to power, Arroyo will be compelled to commit more acts of deception, manipulation and violence to suppress the truth and prevent the people from rising up against her hated regime," he said. "But the longer Arroyo remains, the more the people will be convinced to join street protests and rise up in their millions to finally throw out her rotten regime." ###

Reference:
Anne Buenaventura
Media Officer
Cellphone Number: +63910-240-3553

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