Anti-Cha-cha drive shifts to cyberspace

MANILA, Philippines - While rallies and other street protests are still being held, Charter change foes are taking their battle to another front – cyberspace.

Blas Ople Policy Center president and blogger Susan Ople yesterday reported that the number of participants of the online drive against Cha-cha has reached 17,000 and is still growing.

“The FaceBook STOP CON-ASS NOW! has more than 17,000 adherents and the growing number of anti-con-ass cyber advocates should not be ignored because they represent a cross-section of society who are adamantly against House Resolution 1109,” Ople said.

Ople disclosed that a group of Filipino bloggers and FaceBook users has mounted the online campaign to enable Filipino workers and other concerned citizens abroad to register their strong opposition to HR 1109.

“Our goal is to have 100,000 FaceBook users supporting our cause by Independence Day,” Ople said.

“The Internet provides several platforms for concerned citizens to express in their own words and through their own creative ways the outrage they feel against this latest attempt to railroad changes to the Constitution,” Ople pointed out.

She said an online campaign wields great influence because it is continuous, creative, affordable, and has a global reach.

“Case in point – the national outrage over Chip Tsao. If we can do that for every congressman that sponsored and voted for HR 1109, then the more chances of having a great number of administration solons dissociate themselves from this despotic piece of legislation before Congress convenes in July,” she stressed.

A group of computer professionals also gave the same advice to con-ass foes who can’t join protest rallies.

“We encourage everyone to join Twitter if not yet a member, and tweet your messages with the #no2conass hashtag affixed,” said Rick Bahague, national coordinator of the Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU).

“People from around the world will be able to see the words unheeded by the government when they pursued their agenda of greed in convening a constituent assembly that doesn’t have the people’s interests at heart,” he said.

CPU explained that Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows users to post 140-character messages called “tweets” to keep fellow users updated on any topic of conversation.

Bahague said people can type “no2conass” in twitter’s search engine to see all messages related to the June 10 anti-con ass rally in Makati City.

As part of its new media campaign, the twitter account CPU’s mascot, Pio, has been launched “to tweet on-the-ground updates and comments from the Ayala rally by linking it to a mobile phone.”

Bahague said CPU has developed a tool that posts tweets from short messaging system or texts sent to +639071134503.

“We invite everyone to send SMS messages to this number and Pio will repost them as tweets,” Bahague said. “SMS messages should have <no2conass><space><message> format.”

Also, Bahague said CPU will likewise broadcast a live video stream of rallies against Charter change or con-ass for those who can’t attend such mass actions, particularly overseas Filipinos.

“Activists around the world have utilized these new media tools as a means of effectively reaching out to the people, as was demonstrated in the successful Obama presidential campaign,” Bahague pointed out.

“Twitter in particular would jive with the texting culture of Filipinos. If utilized in coordination with real grassroots mobilization, it can be instrumental in achieving the change we need,” Bahague also said.   

Meanwhile, Migrante International said more Filipino workers abroad have launched various activities to express their opposition to Cha-cha.

“Filipinos in North America have already started to drum up their protest actions against con-ass. In the US, rallies and cultural events are being planned in New York while in Canada, Migrante-Ontario will picket the Philippine consulate in Toronto on Friday,” Migrante chairman Garry Martinez said.

Migrante also announced the formation of MarCHA! Laban sa Cha-cha or Migrants against Cha-cha, as part of the anti-Charter change drive.

“Our chapters in Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and the Middle East have committed to initiate protest actions in their respective regions, using various creative forms of protests, to prepare for our call for a Zero-Remittance Day once con-ass convenes,” Martinez said. - With Katherine Adraneda