May 1 brings back bad memories for Malacanang

By RORIE R. FAJARDO, GMANews.TV Anti-Arroyo groups will be back in the streets on May 1 not only to mark Labor Day but also to call for President Arroyo’s ouster and to press for the rejection of the Arroyo administration’s move to change the Constitution. May 1 brings back bad memories for the Arroyo administration. On May 1, 2001, angry supporters of deposed President Joseph Estrada came close to entering Malacanang four months after Mrs. Arroyo became president. Dubbed EDSA Tres or EDSA riot, the May 1, 2001, attempt to seize power was sparked by the arrest of Mr. Estrada for plunder charges on April 25, 2001. Three months earlier, Estrada was ousted through a popular uprising known as EDSA II after he was accused of amassing millions from illegal gambling and tobacco excise taxes. The image of Estrada being hauled off to the National Police headquarters for mug shots triggered protests by Estrada’s supporters who mostly came from the ranks of the poor masa (masses). They called for the reinstatement of their “hero" and an end to the “oppression of the poor by the rich." For those who joined the melee in Mendiola, Labor Day has become an occasion to remind Mrs. Arroyo of her failed promises to help the poor. NOT JUST THE ‘GREAT UNWASHED’ In a recent kwentuhang bayan (community dialogue) in Barangay (village) Pag-asa in Quezon City, people who joined EDSA Tres said their act was not for Estrada alone but also for their families.

Myrna Lacdao, 50, resident of Sitio San Roque, urban poor community in Quezon City (Photo by Jes Aznar)

“We wanted change in our lives. That would be impossible without a pro-poor president like Estrada," said Myrna Lacdao, 50, resident of Sitio San Roque in Pag-asa. Lacdao is a member of the Kalipunan ng Samahang Maralita sa Pilipinas (Kasama – Association of Poor Neighborhood Groups in the Philippines). Lacdao admitted she did not vote for Mr. Estrada in 1998. In no time, however, she found hope in the former movie actor when he awarded seven hectares of land in North Triangle, Quezon City, to poor residents. The 54-hectare North Triangle in Quezon City is a government property that includes ecology parks, transport terminals and commercial and residential areas. About 6,300 urban poor families or 25,200 people have been fighting since 1986 for land tenure in about 11 hectares of the property. Lacdao, together with her husband and five children, spent four days on meager food and without sleep at the EDSA Shrine. Remembering the rich man who donated food and drinks to them, she said the experience taught her nothing is impossible if only the rich and poor work together. “Unfortunately, the rich like Arroyo continues to ignore us," said Lacdao, a vendor of dried fish and pillowcases and rags. Teresita Herminigildo, 42, also a resident of Sitio San Roque, disputed the claim that the people who joined the 2001 march to Malacanang were drunkards and drug addicts. Like her fellow residents, she blamed the media for perpetuating the notion. Media should have reported the truth just the way they did in the two previous historic uprisings, she said. The protest, she said, was an opportunity to defend her family’s right to a decent living and a job. In the early morning of May 1, 2001, Hermiginildo was among those who were about to enter the Malacañang grounds and who were met with tear gas and gun shots. She arrived home in the early afternoon, tired but glad she was still alive. Kasama chairperson Edwin Nakpil, 43, said nobody has a “franchise" on the May 1 siege, contrary to common view that oppositionists such as Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Miriam Defensor Santiago were behind the march. Defensor Santiago, who was said to have ordered the mob to storm Malacañang, later became Mrs. Arroyo’s political ally. Nakpil said his group and other urban poor groups only wanted to press for housing, education and access to health for the poor. Nakpil said while the crowd was composed mostly of urban poor groups in Manila, there were also workers and farmers who joined the march. Political anthropologist Nestor Castro told GMANews.TV the May 1, 2001 siege of Malacanang only showed that the Philippines is deeply divided by class and culture. Castro joined the protest from the day Mr. Estrada was arrested until the crowd converged at the EDSA Shrine. He said he wanted to observe and understand the people who joined the protest. There are two Philippines, the one portrayed by the middle and upper classes, and the Mother Nation as understood by the masses, Castro said. Shortly after Mrs. Arroyo lifted the state of rebellion she declared earlier, she promised economic reforms in her government. The President, aiming to set an example, announced she would give away the lands of her husband and of his family in Negros Occidental. She also ordered the Department of Labor to ban the hiring of “casual" employees. In her first State of Nation Address in July 2001, Arroyo declared war on poverty. Referring to the aspirations of three young urban poor boys from the Payatas dump, Arroyo promised to create 1.5 million jobs until 2010, and to prioritize land security, education and health for the poor. She also visited the urban poor stronghold of Estrada in Tondo, Manila. HARDER TIMES On May 1, 2006, Mrs. Arroyo’s “reforms" would be put under scrutiny by the poor.

Teresita Herminigildo, 42, also a resident of Sitio San Roque (Photo by Jes Aznar)

Data from the National Statistics Office in January 2006 showed an increase in the unemployment rate, from 7.4 percent in January last year to 8.1 percent this year. This means 2.8 million Filipinos failed to find work in January 2006 despite the government’s claim that it created a million jobs yearly. In January 2005, there were 2.5 million job seekers. The non-government Labor Education and Research Network (LEARN) said a total of 10.8 million out of the 36 million work force need jobs. The work force comprises the unemployed (2.8 million), the underemployed (6.9 million) and even those not looking for jobs (1.1 million). Hundreds of farm workers, meanwhile, are yet to own a piece of land from the Arroyo family in Negros. Research made by Task Force Mapalad, a national peasant organization, revealed that first gentleman Miguel Arroyo and his brother Rep. Ignacio Arroyo (5th District, Negros Occidental) failed to submit papers necessary to process the farm workers’ claim, thereby delaying the distribution of land for the past five years. Farm workers continue to do menial jobs for the landowners, such as cutting and hauling of sugar cane at P100 daily. Back in Sitio San Roque, Lacdao and Herminigildo said the rising prices of commodities and transportation fares worsened their situation. They used to buy a kilo of rice and fish with less than P50, but now they are forced to just eat the cheaper yet less nutritious instant noodles almost daily. The government is still looking into the North Triangle residents’ claim despite persistent complaints from urban poor groups. The grade school building in Sitio San Roque, which President Arroyo ordered built, is now deserted because there are no funds to hire teachers. - GMANews.TV