Anti-Estrada rally set in Makati

Groups of various political stripes and causes have decided to set aside their differences and work together in pressing President Estrada to resign due to the raging jueteng scandal.

They will stage a big rally tomorrow afternoon in Makati City, Metro Manila’s financial district, urging Mr. Estrada to step down.

Yesterday, the groups’ leaders, including those from both ends of the political spectrum – from rightist former military rebels to leftist activists – mapped out their strategy at the Dasmariñas Village, Makati residence of former Tarlac Rep Jose Cojuangco.

"This Wednesday will not be a numbers game but a beginning of our protest actions to bring Estrada out of office," Bayan secretary general Teddy Casiño said.

Retired Navy commodore Domingo Calajate, chairman of the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM), called on soldiers and policemen not to allow themselves to be used by "corrupt and inept" government officials, referring to Mr. Estrada.

Calajate also challenged former RAM leader and pro-administration Sen. Gregorio Honasan to make a stand on the scandal. They will ask Honasan if he will side with the President when the RAM meets again tomorrow at its Makati office.

"If he supports Erap, then he’s with Erap. But if he supports the people, then he should support us," Calajate said.

In 1986, RAM staged a mutiny against Ferdinand Marcos that triggered a popular uprising against the late dictator, forcing him into exile.

Reacting to the RAM’s involvement in the growing clamor for Mr. Estrada’s ouster, Honasan said he would let the "constitutional process complete its cycle" before deciding whether or not to support the President.

Keeping up the pressure on Mr. Estrada, hundreds of militant activists from the Buklurang Manggagawang Pilipino labor group and Sanlakas picketed the House of Representatives yesterday, calling for a mass resignation of government officials and for new elections.

Yesterday, another citizens group joined the clamor for Mr. Estrada’s resignation. Dante Jimenez, chairman of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption anti-crime watchdog group, said they will support the impeachment complaint against Mr. Estrada.

Mr. Estrada’s political instability threatens to hammer the already-frail economy and is plunging the peso to new lows.

Lito Descallar, chairman of the Save the Poor Movement, a coalition of urban poor and peasant groups, warned that the poor will suffer the most if the scandal drags on and harms the economy.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Francisco Tatad yesterday claimed that there’s a certain group, which he did not identify, planning to sow violence in anti-Estrada rallies.

Tatad told a press conference that the group wants to generate chaos in forcing Mr. Estrada to resign, similar to the violent public unrest that brought down the Indonesian dictator Suharto.

Tatad refused to reveal where he got his information. He urged protest organizers to police their ranks.

Crack police units guarding against Muslim rebels in Mindanao were ordered back to Metro Manila, police intelligence sources said, probably to prevent anti-Estrada rallies from turning violent.

Checkpoints will be set up on major roads leading to the nation’s capital to keep out troublemakers, the sources said, adding that intelligence agents are already watching major highways leading to the metropolis. – with reports from Perseus Echeminada, Pia Lee-Brago, Mayen Jaymalin