Protesters burn
effigies of officials
involved in the
broadband
contract scandal.
Among those
implicated are
Mike Arroyo
(above) and
President Arroyo
herself.
effigies of officials
involved in the
broadband
contract scandal.
Among those
implicated are
Mike Arroyo
(above) and
President Arroyo
herself.
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Protesters put heat on Arroyo, husband
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filglobe.com
filipino globe online edition
Calls for truth widen as over broadband contract scandal
MANILA
In the third mass protest in a month, thousands of students and left-wing
activists pressed their call for President Gloria Arroyo’s resignation over
corruption allegations implicating her and her husband.
Police estimated the protesters at 6,000 at their peak, smaller than the tens of
thousands who rallied two weeks ago in the biggest protest since the Senate
opened hearings into the scandal last year.
MANILA
In the third mass protest in a month, thousands of students and left-wing
activists pressed their call for President Gloria Arroyo’s resignation over
corruption allegations implicating her and her husband.
Police estimated the protesters at 6,000 at their peak, smaller than the tens of
thousands who rallied two weeks ago in the biggest protest since the Senate
opened hearings into the scandal last year.
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Former senior
officials who
served under
Arroyo said
they found
her at the
center of, the
corruption
and cover-up
officials who
served under
Arroyo said
they found
her at the
center of, the
corruption
and cover-up
Several Roman Catholic bishops and dozens
of priests and nuns critical of Arroyo joined the
rally.
Some released doves and green balloons to
signify peace and the search for truth.
The Senate has been investigating
allegations that Arroyo, her husband Mike
Arroyo and former Comelec chairman
Benjamin Abalos benefited from huge
kickbacks in an aborted US$330 million deal
with China’s ZTE Corp to set up a nationwide
broadband network.
Malacanang dismissed the charges as
hearsay and opposition “grandstanding.”
Mike Arroyo and Abalos, who resigned last
year after he was implicated, have both denied
any wrongdoing. ZTE has denied bribing
anyone.
of priests and nuns critical of Arroyo joined the
rally.
Some released doves and green balloons to
signify peace and the search for truth.
The Senate has been investigating
allegations that Arroyo, her husband Mike
Arroyo and former Comelec chairman
Benjamin Abalos benefited from huge
kickbacks in an aborted US$330 million deal
with China’s ZTE Corp to set up a nationwide
broadband network.
Malacanang dismissed the charges as
hearsay and opposition “grandstanding.”
Mike Arroyo and Abalos, who resigned last
year after he was implicated, have both denied
any wrongdoing. ZTE has denied bribing
anyone.
Arroyo canceled the contract in September because of the controversy.
Scores of marchers from urban poor communities carried bamboo crosses
with placards saying “Stop the Suffering” as they chanted “Oust Gloria!”
In a statement, Renato Reyes, secretary general of the left-wing alliance
Bayan, said the issues of “corruption, human rights abuses and abuse of
power” remain, “so the protests will continue.”
Bishop Teodoro Bacani repeated a call by the Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines for Arroyo to “remove all obstructions to the discovery of the
truth” behind the broadband deal.
He said Arroyo hasn’t yet directed her officials to speak out “no matter who
gets hurt, no matter who is involved.”
Deputy presidential spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo welcomed the rally as an
“exercise of the democratic freedom we all enjoy” but urged the protesters to
be responsible “and express themselves in a civilized manner and not resort
to name calling.”
On Thursday, about 80 former senior officials who served under Arroyo and
four previous administrations said in a statement they found her “complicit
with and, in fact, at the center of, the corruption and cover-up” of the
broadband deal.
Scores of marchers from urban poor communities carried bamboo crosses
with placards saying “Stop the Suffering” as they chanted “Oust Gloria!”
In a statement, Renato Reyes, secretary general of the left-wing alliance
Bayan, said the issues of “corruption, human rights abuses and abuse of
power” remain, “so the protests will continue.”
Bishop Teodoro Bacani repeated a call by the Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines for Arroyo to “remove all obstructions to the discovery of the
truth” behind the broadband deal.
He said Arroyo hasn’t yet directed her officials to speak out “no matter who
gets hurt, no matter who is involved.”
Deputy presidential spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo welcomed the rally as an
“exercise of the democratic freedom we all enjoy” but urged the protesters to
be responsible “and express themselves in a civilized manner and not resort
to name calling.”
On Thursday, about 80 former senior officials who served under Arroyo and
four previous administrations said in a statement they found her “complicit
with and, in fact, at the center of, the corruption and cover-up” of the
broadband deal.
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