Military and police generals pledged their support for the embattled Philippine president yesterday as a deepening corruption scandal unleashed a fresh wave of nationwide protests on the anniversary of a "people power" revolt.
National police chief Avelino Razon imposed a weeklong ban on carrying guns in public as a "preventive measure" to ensure order amid coup rumors. Guns are normally allowed on the streets with permits.
Razon and military chief General Hermogenes Esperon ruled out a repeat of the iconic 1986 uprising, when hundreds of thousands of unarmed protesters faced off against tanks and troops to end Ferdinand Marcos' 20-year rule.
PHOTO: EPA
Thousands of demonstrators were out on the streets again yesterday -- left-wing protesters, Roman Catholic Church-backed groups, students, teachers and civil society activists -- demanding President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's resignation at rallies held in 15 cities.
MONUMENT
About 500 people were blocked by riot police from approaching the "people power" monument along Manila's main thoroughfare.
More than 3,000 others marched to a historic bridge near the presidential palace, yelling "Gloria resign." and "She's evil." Some carried an effigy of Arroyo, her mouth stuffed with peso bills to depict her as corrupt.
A third anti-Arroyo group, led by former president and democracy icon Corazon Aquino, gathered for Mass in a suburban Manila church.
HEARINGS
Protesters have been galvanized by anti-corruption hearings at the Senate that exposed an anomalous telecommunications contract that allegedly involved kickbacks to senior officials and the president's husband.
All those involved have denied the allegations. However Arroyo created more stir on Saturday by acknowledging she was warned last April about possible corruption in the US$330 million contract with Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE Corp -- but signed it anyway, only to scrap it five months later.
Arroyo has ordered an investigation into the deal.
UNITY
After a flag-raising ceremony, about 20 military and police generals locked arms in a "unity march" with about 4,000 police officers in a move to dispel swirling coup rumors.
"This is our expression ... that our countrymen should not be concerned with rumors of destabilization," said Esperon.
The military played key roles in the 1986 uprising as well as in 2001, when Joseph Estrada was toppled on corruption charges. Arroyo, Estrada's vice president, took over the presidency and won her own six-year term in 2004, but critics accused her of cheating.
A losing bidder in the broadband project has testified in the Senate that Arroyo's husband and the country's elections chief -- who has since quit -- threatened him to make him abandon his proposal because they were allegedly promised huge commissions.
Opposition Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr said he would urge Senate committees investigating the deal to look into Arroyo's statement that she knew it was suspect and assess whether she violated anti-graft laws.
"We all know I am not perfect," Arroyo said in a speech on Sunday. "But I have worked hard every day to achieve positive and lasting change for the nation."
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
RSS