Filipino migrants and their solidarity friends in Canada
value truth and justice and demand that President Arroyo be held
accountable
February 25, 2008
The undersigned Filipino organizations,
Philippine solidarity groups and our allies stand in solidarity
with the Filipino people who are protesting in massive numbers
this Feb. 25 to express their outrage against President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo’s scandal-ridden regime. The demonstrations
throughout Philippines on the 25th are part of the activities
commemorating the 22nd anniversary of People Power 1 that
toppled the Marcos dictatorship.
As Filipinos living and working abroad, we are
disgusted with the recent developments in the Philippines,
particularly the exposé on the overpricing of the ZTE-National
Broadband Network contract between Philippines and China that
allowed some unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats to pocket
kickbacks, including First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. We deplore
the subsequent attempts of the Arroyo administration to cover up
the scandal through the abduction of senate witness and
telecommunications engineer, Jun Lozada, hired to assess the
broadband contract, as well as the bribery of the former
National Economic and Development Authority chair Romulo Neri.
We Filipinos work hard abroad away from our
families and relatives and send billions of dollars in
remittances back home. Migrant Filipinos who find themselves in
crisis abroad are often told that the Philippine embassies
cannot help due to lack of funds. We are therefore enraged with
this latest example of corruption and moral bankruptcy of the
Arroyo regime that has had a record of misusing the Filipino
people’s taxes.
Canadians who are in solidarity with the
Filipino people are shocked at the worsening corruption of the
Arroyo regime, especially in light of the continuing human
rights violations that includes extrajudicial killings,
disappearances and suppression of fundamental freedoms of
expression and association. As people who value peace and
democracy, we are dismayed by the current situation in the
Philippines under President Arroyo that has become reminiscent
of the days of the Marcos dictatorship.
The regime’s repression and corruption have
plunged the Filipino people deeper into poverty and misery. We
sympathize with their plight and support their call for
President Arroyo’s resignation. It is time that the Filipino
people have a real chance to choose new leadership that is
capable of ushering in genuine development, peace and democracy
in the country.
LET THE CORRUPT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!
OUST GLORIA NOW!
Signatories:
-
Migrante Ontario (Pilipinong Migrante sa
Canada - Ottawa, Filipino Migrant Workers Movement, Aware,
Damayan Migrant Education and Resource Center, Migrant
Workers and Family Resource Center - Hamilton, Migrante
Youth collective, Philippine Advocacy Through Arts and
Culture)
-
PINAY – Filipino Women’s Organization of
Quebec
-
Ontario Committee for Human Rights in the
Philippines (OCHRP)
-
Philippine Network for Justice and Peace (PNJP)
-
Centre d’appui aux Philippines/Centre for
Philippine Concerns (CAP-CPC) – Montreal
-
Centre for Philippine Concerns (CPC) –
Winnipeg
References:
Marco Luciano
(Migrante Global Council Representative for
Canada)
migrante.ontario@gmail.com
Malcolm Guy
(Communications, CAP-CPC)
capcpc@web.net
