Wednesday, April 16, 2008
BAYAN-UNO JOINT RALLY AT PLAZA MIRANDA
Militant groups Bayan and UNO held a joint rally along with other opposition groups to assert policy reforms and political will, not emergency powers, as means to address the ongoing soaring prices in the country.
In a press statement issued by Renato Reyes, Jr., secretary general of Bayan, he said, "As the Filipino people are forced to cope with escalating prices of rice and other basic food commodities, fuel, utilities, and other basic goods and services, a proposal to declare a state of national emergency has again emerged. The proposal intends to give President Arroyo additional powers to supposedly address the worsening problem of unbridled price increases."
Protest leaders are striving to prevent the Arroyo administration from receiving more powers for effective intervention, citing that existing rules and regulations are already available. They challenged the administration to harness the necessary political will to implement these existing rules and regulations. Such action, they argued, will demonstrate the regime's sincerity to provide relief to the public battered by increasing prices.
The protesters marched from the UST campus to Plaza Miranda where they staged a program to voice out their concerns. The rally, attended by a couple of thousand people, was conducted peacefully.
Part 1 of the series
Part 2 of the series
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posted by Señor Enrique at 7:45 AM
4 Comments:
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Sidney said... Those protesters are always very creative! (picture number 2)
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Señor Enrique said...
They've got to have a creative director who devise such photogenic presentations, Sidney ... hehehe.
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said... Re the escalating commodity prices... the diabolical price of oil has wrecked havoc on all the economies on planet earth, especially in the manufacturing sector and transportation sector lest people forget. This situation hikes commodity prices to offset expenses.
Richer countries are able to cushion the damage but poorer countries aren't so lucky.-
Señor Enrique said...
How true it is, BW.
But what makes matters so much worse here in Pinas are some big-time rice traders who are now getting caught hoarding thousands of sacks of rice in various warehouses all over the country. These people should be charged with economic sabotage and sentenced to work as slaves at some rice fields ... hehehe.
