HK groups protest against Chacha
“People’s voice must prevail and not GMA’s”

04 June 2009

Charter change and the House approval of HR 1109 drew more flak today as Filipinos in Hong Kong staged a protest action at the Philippine Consulate General in HK against what they deemed as the” biggest betrayal of the House of Representatives for the interest of GMA.”

Members of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK), BAYAN-HK, Gabriela Women’s Party – HK and Bangon Pilipinas Movement trooped to the PCG-HK and took turns lambasting HR1109 and its proponents.

“For those congressmen who said ‘Aye’, you just marked your political death among OFWs. We’ll aggressively promote among our families and friends in the Philippines to vote against you for you allowed yourselves to be puppets of the criminal government of GMA. People’s voice must prevail and not GMA’s,” said Dolores Balladares of UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK.

Balladares added that OFWs have opposed Chacha been from the start for as, OFW groups believe, it will only worsen the economic situation in the country, intensify the displacement of people, tighten foreign control over the Philippines, and worst of all, keep GMA in place.

“For putting us in this condition, Nograles and company have become ‘undesirables’ within Filipino communities around the world,” she stated.  

Meanwhile, Norman Uy Carnay of BAYAN-HK assailed the congressmen who bulldozed HR1109 through the Congress as going against the will of the Filipino people.

“Any self-respecting official who calls himself a member of the House of Representatives should know by now that ChaCha has never had the support of the people. These congressmen who supported HR1109 need their titles revoked and just be labeled as the Malacanang thugs inside the Congress,” he said.

Carnay believed that GMA’s continued rule beyond 2010 and, thus, her freedom from prosecution for the piled up cases against her, remain to be the ultimate agenda of Chacha.  

“Political developments such as the merging of administration parties and now this resolution all point to a grand scheme of GMA to maintain power beyond 2010. The stage has been set and the puppets in Congress have played their part,” he said.

Bangon Pilipinas HK representative also hit the fast-tracked approval of HR1109. The group’s spokesperson, Edgar Robles said that the move showed that the Arroyo administration and its allies are only concerned with its own interest through charter change and a blatantly disregard the people’s plight.

“This again showed how deceptive and without integrity this government is who has repeatedly said before that they are setting aside Chacha,” he added.

For their part, Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, chairperson of the Gabriela Women’s Party – Hong Kong chapter hit the “very undemocratic and self-serving” process that the approval of the said resolution took.

“Gravest of the travesties on democracy the pro-Chacha congressmen committed was prohibiting the public from witnessing the proceedings. They were brutish enough to act with impunity and have HR1109 passed but also too cowardly to let the public see how they have betrayed the people for the sake of GMA,” she remarked.

The protesters said that their action was only the first that they will do.

“The offensives of GMA and camp to push through with Chacha must be met by the people’s rage. Shame on GMA, shame on her lackeys in Congress,” she concluded.#