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Cagayan Valley women join Oust GMA Mov’t

TUGUEGARAO CITY (July 16) — Several women’s organizations this week joined the growing movement demanding Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) to step down from the presidency through GABRIELA-Cagayan Valley.

“GMA is a woman, but she is not a source of pride and inspiration for us. Gender alone will never be the basis on which she can gain our support, but more importantly on how she stands for and advances women and children’s rights and welfare, together with those of the Filipino masses in general”, said Leilah Palapuz, Gabriela-CV spokesperson for Isabela. Palapuz added that GMA has simply failed to deliver on these expectations.

Palapuz said that the growing unrest among the basic sectors, the worsening national crisis and the repression of political rights are reasons why GMA should have been ousted even earlier.

The Gabriela leader asserts that the Filipino people are the decisive factor in GMA’s fate.

“History has shown how people power makes or breaks rulers. Even our Constitution clearly states that ‘all government authority emanates from the people. As to why some still have doubts and even disagree in what huge street protests can do, we can suppose their own interests are at stake and these make them afraid,” states Palapuz.

If GMA resigns or is overthrown by people power, or is impeached, Gabriela says that their struggle for substantial change in the system will not stop just there.

“The Filipino people have already learned, albeit painfully, how the nation’s problem is deeply rooted in the system itself. We are tired of leaders being at the service of foreign plunderers and local landlords and bureaucrat-capitalists. What we are pushing for is a democratic transitional governing council to succeed Arroyo’s ejection from power. This will pave the way for democratic steps that shall primarily respond to the People’s Agenda,” Palapuz concludes.

The GMA Step-down Movement (GSM)-CV is a broad gathering of people from sectoral organizations of peasants, factory and transport workers, youth & students and government employees as well as church people, small businessmen, and the academe. The GSM-CV was formally launched on July 16 at Centro Ilagan, Isabela. # via NORDIS

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