Local execs to put up pro-GMA billboards, streamers

Local government officials in the countryside will put up more than 10,000 billboards and streamers in strategic locations in their respective areas to publicly proclaim their unwavering support for President Arroyo, the rule of law and the Constitution.

Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado, president of both the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and the League of Provinces, said the 1.5 million-strong organization of local officials and their employees will also lead in a 10-million signature drive for the President.

The twin activities are meant to deliver a strong message to anti-government and opposition forces desperately trying to destabilize the government and force the President to resign that the people in the countryside are staunchly behind the administration of Mrs. Arroyo, ULAP said.

ULAP secretary-general Carlo Fortuna said the Christian message of Archbishop Ferdinand Capalla, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president, asking the people "to love and forgive" and the most recent joint appeal of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) and the charismatic group El Shaddai for both administration and opposition forces to "stop the political bickerings" must be heeded so that the healing of the wounds of the past could begin.

"They (religious leaders) are completely correct that one cannot love without forgiving and justice cannot be attained without forgiveness," said Fortuna, national president of the 18,000-strong Philippine Councilors League.

He urged the opposition to take stock of the extra-constitutional strategies it is using as these are only hurting the economy and polarizing the nation, pointing out the fact that destabilization attempts have miserably failed to generate public support.

ULAP spokesman and Albay Vice Gov. James Calisin said the appeals of the INC and the El Shaddai are a reflection of the deteriorative effects that politicking has brought upon the people.

"We have wallowed too far in political dynamics. As they have noted, the political crisis caused by street protests is threatening the country’s economic recovery," Calisin said.

League of Municipalities national president and Binalonan, Pangasinan Mayor Ramon Guico Jr. said the opposition’s destabilization drive has failed to dampen the country’s economic gains despite the spiraling cost of fuel and regional problems that have rocked Asia.

"The present state of affairs can further look good for the people if these destabilization moves and riotous street protests stop. We need a breather to sustain investor confidence and attract more foreign capital," said Guico, ULAP executive vice president.

League of Provinces spokesman and Catanduanes Gov. Leandro Verceles said the joint appeal of the INC and El Shaddai is very timely in the light of the non-stop political unrest the opposition and anti-government sectors have created.

"This is not the Filipino way of life. It is not only unfair but sadistic that the political opposition wants to bring the government on its knees regardless if the entire Filipino nation suffers in agony and despair," Verceles said.

Agusan del Sur Gov. Bong Plaza said the mobilization of pro-Arroyo supporters in the 10-million signature campaign should prove once and for all why Mrs. Arroyo deserves to stay in office and finish her term as the Constitution provides.

"People in the countryside are tired of the imperialistic tendencies of Metro Manila-based political groups who impose their political will as if they speak for the entire Philippines," said Plaza, adding that Mindanaoans do not look too kindly on how they have been ignored for too long.

Plaza said it is about time that the people in Mindanao rise up and make their voices heard. "We are also Filipinos like any other ethnic groups. We must have a say," he said.

Vice Mayors League of the Philippine national president and Mandaluyong Vice Mayor Jesse Cruz said that in Metro Manila alone, people in the C, D and E economic brackets are not anymore easily swayed by the political promises of the opposition.