Press Statement
November 29, 2007

Reference: Chito Quijano, Chairperson, BAYAN USA, email: chair@bayanusa.org

FIL-AMS POSITION THEMSELVES IN MAKATI MILITARY STAND-OFF; CURFEW IMPOSED IS THE DAWN OF FULL-IMPLEMENTATION OF MARTIAL LAW

Even from afar, the current and ongoing military stand-off launched by Opposition-sided Senator Antonio  Trillanes and Brigadier General Danilo Lim in the Manila financial center of Makati last night calling for the resignation of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo comes as no surprise. It is merely a predictable result of over 2 years of scandal linked to the Arroyo administration. Ever since the media exposed the Hello Garci scandal that prompted the de facto President to offer a lame on-air apology for proven election fraud back in 2005, wherein her legitimacy in Malacanang became pronouncingly questionable, it has been a long and winding road downhill for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

This latest mutiny from the ranks of her own military is the fruit beared by her long-standing vendetta to crush all forms of opposition starting with altering the Constitution to extend her powers, abusing the legal and judicial forums to resurrect Martial Law, squashing democratic space and civil liberties, and ultimately killing-off all members of the broad opposition, including those in the Philippine Congress in addition to those engaged in peaceful assembly on the streets.

The imposition of a curfew is not only blatantly unconstitutional, but is identical to the measures taken by former US-backed dictator Ferdinand Marcos who sought to turn the Philippines into a garrison state. The ongoing and random arrests of journalists covering the Makati story likewise brings us back to the dark days of the Marcos era and more importantly to the declaration by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists that the Philippines is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist. Evidently, under the regime of Arroyo, to tell the truth about what the government is doing can get you killed.

We stand guard that the Arroyo camp will use this incident as a pretext to declare another state of national emergency, as the rhetoric of national security enforced by Arroyo is really the language used to protect Arroyo's personal security instead.

We in the United States have long registered through action and words that we would like to see a Gloria-free Philippines as soon as possible. Though continents away from our motherland, we too have beared the brunt of bad governance from the Arroyo administration. The Arroyo government told us to just go home when we asked for help regarding the US government's crackdown on undocumented immigrants in the US. The Arroyo government sucked in over $6 billion in remittances from the US and then plundered into the government funds to start a reign of terror stolen and unelected by the Filipino people. Her actions mirror the handiwork of her predecessor, former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada, who eventually suffered the fate of ouster by Filipino people.

It is understandable that now, even the likes of Trillanes and Lim, who pointedly blasted the administration for placing roadblock after roadblock in the three righteous impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives, are stepping forward with conviction and calling for the Arroyo government to step down. Wherever we stand in the political spectrum, Left or Right, we must stay focused on the common goal-- to force Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down immediately and prevent another garrison state from emerging.

We also stand guard from the Arroyo media camp's intention to spin this military mutiny onto the Left, as this is not the work of left-leaning, cause-oriented groups like BAYAN, but the project of opposition leaders in the Philippine Congress. If Arroyo wants to play the blame game, she should start with blaming herself.