MANILA, 22 September 2006 — Leftist protesters yesterday sought inspiration from the recent ouster of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as they renewed calls for public support to force President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo out of power.

Protesters also tried to resurrect the ghosts of the bloody regime of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who snuffed out democracy in the Philippines when he placed the country under martial rule 34 years ago.

“Abusive and power-hungry leaders are meant to be overthrown in all ways possible,” said May One Labor Movement (KMU) leader Elmer Labog, accusing Arroyo of being no different from Marcos and Thaksin.

“Mrs. Arroyo is charting the same path of corruption and repression taken by both Marcos and Thaksin,” said Carol Araullo, the chairwoman of the left-wing alliance Bayan.

Marcos was toppled in a “people power” revolt in February 1986 while Thaksin, who survived a civilian uprising early this year, was ousted in a bloodless military-led coup on Tuesday.

A protest leader, Armand Albarillo, condemned the killings of activists, including his parents, who were murdered by unidentified gunmen in 2002.

“Arroyo has surpassed Marcos in some ways because she did not declare martial law and yet so many people were abducted and killed under her rule,” Albarillo said.

Opposition groups, human rights watchdogs and increasingly foreign governments have expressed alarm over a spate of killings targeting left-wing activists. Arroyo also has been dogged by vote-rigging and corruption allegations.

In the first six months of this year, Amnesty International recorded 51 political killings in the Philippines, compared with 66 for all of 2005.

Some protesters carried posters with a picture of Thaksin labeled “ousted,” and Arroyo, marked “soon.”

They burned a car-size effigy of an army tank topped by Arroyo’s head with a turret protruding from her mouth.

Arroyo herself came to power in 2001 after a “people power” revolt ousted her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, on allegations of corruption. Estrada has been on trial since.

No Basis for Comparison

Arroyo and her aides shrugged off the comparisons, saying Philippine democracy has remained vibrant under her three-and-a-half-year presidency.

Arroyo’s spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, defended her government, saying it “has been at the forefront of strengthening democracy and fighting all forms of political tyranny.”

In a statement, Arroyo, who has survived three coup plots since she took office in 2001, yesterday said it was now time for Thailand’s military rulers to restore democracy.

“We join the international community in calling for the rule of law and the restoration of democracy in Thailand in the soonest possible time,” she said.

“As a neighbor, a longtime ally and fellow member of the (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), we express our solidarity with the people of Thailand in their search for peace and unity; and we are thankful that not a single drop of blood was spilled during the recent events.”

Arroyo herself has been accused of vote-rigging in the 2004 election, corruption and human rights abuses, but twice in the last two years her congressional allies defeated an attempt by opposition lawmakers to impeach her, while coup rumors have occasionally swirled.

In February, Arroyo declared a weeklong state of emergency after quashing an alleged plot to grab power by disgruntled soldiers, communist rebels and civilian backers.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the Cabinet’s most senior member, on Wednesday rejected a comparison between the situations in the Philippines and Thailand, saying the 117,000-strong Philippine military was loyal to the constitution and the president.

During a budget hearing at the House of Representatives yesterday, Ermita said the president was “so confident” with the country’s political situation that Malacañang has no plans of reducing her travels abroad despite fears that she can also be ousted in a coup like Thaksin.

Thaksin was in the United States when troops led by army commander Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin seized power in Thailand.

Responding to a question by a lawmaker concerned that the president’s prolonged overseas trips could encourage coup plots, Ermita said there should be no cause for alarm because not only was the political situation very stable, the military and police were also behind the president.

The AFP yesterday said there is no group within its ranks that is capable of mounting a coup and warned troops from plotting to grab power. “If there is anybody from our ranks who will mislead and carry out such plot ... the full force of the military justice system would be applied to them,” military spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters. (With reports from Inquirer News Service & Agencies)