Asia Times: Manila rally takes aim at Estrada



	August 21, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Manila rally takes aim at Estrada

MANILA - Opposition to government plans to amend the constitution as well as concern over cronyism and the return of the Marcoses led tens of thousands of Filipinos back to the streets on Friday.

President Joseph Estrada earlier asked rally organizers to call off the demonstration, saying it would frighten investors and hurt the economy. He encouraged cancellation after the peso fell to a 10-month low and the Philippine stock index slid to its lowest point in four months this week following the announcement of a protest rally in the Makati business district. Critics retaliated by stating that proposed changes to the consitution were the real causes of economic unrest.

Friday's pro-democracy rally was led by former president Corazon Aquino and Manila archbishop, Cardinal Jaime Sin, with support from the business community, labor, non-government organizations and even leftist groups.

Estrada, who has been in office for only 14 months, has appointed a preparatory commission on constitutional reform to study possible amendments to the 1987 constitution which was drafted and approved during Aquino's term.

He said amendments would focus mainly on economic provisions to allow greater foreign ownership of certain business sectors such as media as well as the exploitation of natural resources. The constitution needs to be amended in order to allow the Philippines to keep in step with the rest of the world, Estrada has said. But anti-charter change forces say there are more urgent concerns - such as poverty alleviation - which government should focus on. Amending the constitution should not be a priority.

The pro-democracy rally also called for greater vigilance in the face of what is perceived as Estrada's dictatorial tendencies. ''This is 1986 all over again. The only difference is we're now trying to nip a dictatorship in the bud,'' said one congressman, referring to the ''people power'' uprising which toppled Ferdinand Marcos 13 years ago. ''Changing the constitution is not the solution to the country's ills,'' said Cardinal Sin, a vocal critic of Estrada. ''Let us protect our democracy. Let us preserve our democracy.''

Aquino, on the other hand, clarified that the demonstration was not against Estrada himself but certain government decisions which she said may have been motivated by some hidden agenda by politicians and executives close to the president.

While cronyism and the curtailment of press freedom were also targets of the protest, the big fish to fry was the rehabilitation of the Marcoses. ''Let us oppose any compromise on the ill-gotten wealth or loot of the Marcoses,'' said a statement read at the rally. ''It is immoral and sends the wrong signals . . . which can be interpreted as an absolution of the human rights violations [of the Marcoses].''

Victims of the Marcos martial law regime are alarmed by the Estrada government's moves to enter into compromise deals with the Marcos heirs in the recovery of assets believed to have been stolen by the Marcos family and their associates. ''There can never be a Marcos restoration, by hook or by crook,'' declared Aquino at the rally.

Political commentator Armando Doronila, writing in The Inquirer, said: ''The extraordinary thing about the rally in Makati today is that it marks a very early politicization and polarization of the Filipino people in the life of this government.''

He said the rally, which he described as a ''protest against the arrogance of power'', should be a warning to the administration to correct its ''self-destructive ways''. ''A correction at this stage toward a more tolerant and less combative government or a government that is less arrogant in exercising power could be a blessing in disguise.''

(Inter Press Service)

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©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.

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