MANILA — Thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of the Philippine president marched through Manila yesterday, undeterred by heavy security after officials revealed an alleged plot to assassinate her by Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
An estimated 10,000 people, including left-wing and Roman Catholic Church-backed groups, carried streamers reading “Gloria resign!” at a rally in Makati, the capital’s financial district. The rally was triggered by corruption allegations linking top officials and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s husband in a brewing kickback scandal.
“These are telling signs that the people are again roused and are ready to take political action,” said Renato Reyes, secretary general of the left-wing Bayan, one of the organizers.
Former Vice President Teofisto Guingona said protests will continue “until the truth is revealed” about the Arroyo government’s alleged corruption.
The Rev. Jerry Sabado, who was among the nuns and seminarians at the rally, said they were “indignant at the unending cover-up of this regime of all scams and scandals that have caused misery to our people.” The protest, which blocked a major thoroughfare, came a day after the military said intelligence reports indicated communist rebels may infiltrate the rally.
The military went on high alert after officials revealed an alleged plot by the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and its Indonesia-based ally, Jemaah Islamiyah, to assassinate Arroyo and attack embassies. Capt. Carlo Ferrer, spokesman for the military unit in charge of security for the capital, said hundreds of troops, backed by armored vehicles, were on standby and more could be mobilized.
The opposition dismissed the alleged plot as a means to discourage participation in the rally.
Political tensions heightened after former government consultant Rodolfo Lozada Jr. linked a former elections chief and Arroyo’s husband to an allegedly overpriced $330 million government broadband contract in Senate testimony.
Both men have denied the allegations.
Arroyo has survived three opposition impeachment bids and four attempted power grabs, mainly because of support from loyal generals and a formidable political coalition during her seven tumultuous years in power.
She has been accused of rigging the 2004 election and implicated by opposition politicians in a series of corruption scandals, along with members of her family.
Arroyo has rejected the allegations and vowed to complete the last two years of her term.
Reactions From Presidential Palace
Arroyo officials downplayed the protest rally, saying the small turnout showed that people were “tired of destabilization.”
“The attendance in protest rallies is progressively waning,” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye told reporters. “This validates the point the president has made that the people are tired of destabilization. Our countrymen want stability.”
Chief presidential legal counsel Sergio Apostol said he did not see the Arroyo administration falling as, according to him, only the leftists were interested in toppling her.
“Presidential wannabes will no longer do something to topple this administration. Otherwise, they will not get the chance to become president of this country,” he added, going on to explain: “If the leftist were to take over, a new government would be formed and it will not be a democracy anymore.”
— With input from Inquirer News Service
