Anti-GMA group holds rally today

Gloria Resign Movement, reportedly the biggest anti-Arroyo group, will have a nationally coordinated rally today to reiterate its call for the President's ouster.

The group, which claims to be getting bigger and stronger, said that the issue is not only about election fraud but also relevant issues in society like energy crisis, corruption, poverty, and many others.

Yesterday afternoon, youth groups composed of the League of Filipino Students, Anakbayan, National Union of Students in the Philippines, College Editors Guild of the Philippines, among others, marched from the University of San Carlos main campus to the different schools in downtown Cebu ending up in front of Gaisano Metro on Colon Street where they held a torch rally.

Troie Luna, LFS-Cebu secretary general, said their rally was just part of the buildup activity for today's biggest nationally coordinated mobilization to call for Arroyo's ouster.

Meanwhile, Glemmar Bacusmo, GRM media liaison officer, said that today's rally would be simultaneously held in major provinces and cities in the country.

"We have been doing efforts to let the people understand that the issue here is not only the Garci tapes but most of all, the people's issues like economic problems, corruption, lack of support for the agriculture sector, lack of basic services, low wage rate, oil crisis, urban poor, and education for the youth and children," he said.

Different groups representing different sectors and even some church-based organizations will join the mass activity, he said.

On the other hand, Bohol Alliance for the Removal and Ouster of Gloria, which is co-founded by former Bohol governor Rene Relampagos, said that the first step in solving the crisis that the country faces is the ouster of Arroyo.

BAROG said that the economic crisis that resulted to the high prices in basic commodities is caused by the bad way of running the Philippine government under Arroyo's administration.

It said the loss of her credibility and morality plus the poverty and other issues that worsen the plight of the poor people are more than enough to force her to resign.