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<font size=3><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=2>GABRIELA Network statement on lifitng
of Philippine "state of national emergency."<br>
<b>please forward widely!<br>
</b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
3 March 2006<br><br>
Reference:<br>
Dorotea Mendoza, Secretary General, GABRIELA Network<br>
Annalisa Enrile, Chairperson, GABRIELA Network<br>
<a href="mailto:gabnet@gabnet.org">gabnet@gabnet.org</a>; (212)
592-3507<br><br>
<b>PHILIPPINE DE FACTO PRESIDENT REMAINS A THREAT TO NATIONAL STABILITY
AND TO FILIPINO PEOPLE WITH OR WITHOUT "STATE OF NATIONAL
EMERGENCY" <br>
</b> <br>
The state of the Philippine nation remains in dire straits with or
without the Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's "state of
national emergency." Five congress representatives are still
facing arrest for fabricated charges of rebellion; Representative
Crispin Beltran, recently rushed to the hospital for hypertension, is
still under arrest for a warrant issued in 1985 during Ferdinand Marcos'
dictatorship; public assembly and press freedom are still
restricted; civil liberties are still curtailed. Suppression
of people's rights, repression and political persecution are indeed the
mainstays of Arroyo's regime. <br>
<br>
Arroyo's claim of stabilizing the nation is laughable. Her very own
government breeds instability, with its subservience to US interests and
the International Monetary Fund/World Bank, and with her desperate
attempts to hold on to power after evidence of election fraud and despite
popular outcry for her resignation. The presence of some 5,500 US
troops in the archipelago, a blatant affront to Philippine
sovereignty; the policy of exporting labor which saw more than
700,000 Filipino women go abroad in 2005; a poverty rate of
80%; Arroyo's spineless non-presence in the on-going legal battle
against the US marines accused of gang-raping a 22-year old Filipina in
November 2005; graft and corruption—these are the true causes of
national instability in the Philippines. <br>
<br>
Arroyo's "state of national emergency" was never meant to
stabilize the Philippines. It was a transparent scheme to quell the
voices of dissent. On the 4th day of the "state of national
emergency," a 54-year old teacher and labor leader Napoleon
Pornasdoro was gunned down near the high school where he worked.
This added to the tally of more than 245 politically motivated killings
under Arroyo. During the week-long "state of national
emergency," Arroyo's government filed cases of rebellion against 51
individuals, including legitimate congressional representatives and
officers of people's organizations. Among them are Gabriela Women's
Party Representative Liza Maza and Gabriela Women's Party Vice
Chairperson Eliza Tita Lubi. Rep. Liza Maza, along with 4
congresspeoples of Bayan Muna Party (People First) and Anakpawis Party
(Toiling Masses), has been under protective custody in the House of
Representatives since February 27th. Anakpawis Party Rep. Crispin
Beltran was arrested on February 25th. Charge of rebellion carries
a life sentence. <br>
<br>
Arroyo, however, was unsuccessful in quelling the voices of
dissent. Arroyo's tyranny will be her own demise as her recent
scheme to hold on to power galvanized, not silenced, more support for her
ouster. With or without the "state of national
emergency," GABRIELA Network urges the international community to
remain vigilant and to continue the pressure demanding that the
trumped-up charges of rebellion against Rep. Liza Maza and her 5
colleagues be immediately dropped. GABRIELA Network stands by
GABRIELA Philippine's call for a "State of Urgency" to evict
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from the Philippine presidential home
Malacanang. ### <br>
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