US-based rights groups to protest Arroyo's meet with Obama

US-based peace advocates and human rights group are set to stage protest actions in Washington DC to denounce the meeting of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with US President Barack Obama. In their online invitation, the Columban Office for Advocacy and Outreach said a prayer vigil would be held noon time of July 30 at the White House north sidewalk. The groups said the protest activities would highlight the spate of human rights abuses in the Philippines. "As people of faith, we have the responsibility to do something to stop such evil," it said. "We ask you therefore to journey with us to call God and our leaders, especially President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and President Barack Obama, as they meet on this day, to address this issue so that genuine peace and justice will be attained in the Philippines," it added. The prayer vigil is being co-sponsored by the Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines, the Episcopal Church, the Methodist Federation for Social Action, the Peace with Justice Program, General Board of Church and Society, United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church USA-Washington DC Office, the United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries, the Migrant Heritage Commission, the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, and Katarungan: Center for Peace, Justice and Human Rights in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Katarungan said it will stage a separate protest action in front of the White House in between West & East Avenues from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the same day. In an events invitation on Facebook, Katarungan said that during the protest action, it will ask Obama not support Mrs. Arroyo based on his inaugural speech wherein he said: "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit, and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history." "GMA (Mrs. Arroyo’s initials) has been criticized for human rights violations in the Philippines and remains stagnant in the pursuit of justice for victims of extra-judicial killings, torture, and disappearances, GMA’s credibility and accountability is in constant question," Katarungan said. “With such a reputation, Arroyo still possesses the audacity to pursue Charter change in order to prolong political power," it added. Katarungan added they will also ask Obama to include in their agenda the case of Melissa Roxas, the Filipino-American activist who claimed that she was abducted and tortured by the military. The group claimed that Roxas is the first human rights “victim of torture" under the Obama and Arroyo administrations. Manila protests In Manila, hours before President Arroyo’s departure for the United States to meet with President Obama, her critics asked the US leader to warn her that the US would withdraw its support for her administration if it continues to suppress democracy and human rights. In an open letter dated July 29, critics said that the Arroyo administration has been linked to corruption, extrajudicial killings, torture, bribery, and cheating. “The Filipino people also yearn for change from the effrontery of hopelessness and the curse of decadence that Ms. Arroyo represents. In your meeting with Ms. Arroyo, we feel confident that you will make clear to her that a Government that does not comply with the Principles of Democracy and respect the Human Rights cannot have the approval and support of your administration. We implore you, Mr. President, to inspire hope and be an instrument of change for the common good of the long-suffering Filipino people," they said in their letter, which was printed in Metro Manila-based newspapers Wednesday. Mrs. Arroyo and what Malacañang described as a “lean" delegation was due to leave for the US at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday via a commercial flight. She was to meet Obama upon his invitation. “In your meeting with Ms. Arroyo, it may serve you well to be mindful of Ms. Arroyo’s legacy of corruption, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, bribery, election cheating, among others. We do not wish to belabor you with the details of these high crimes which have surely been documented and reported by the US State Department to your office," they added. Signatories of the open letter included former government officials who served under the Arroyo government and under the administration of former President Corazon Aquino. These included former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., former Senate Presidents Jovito Salonga and Franklin Drilon, former senators Wigberto Tañada, Sergio Osmeña III, Vicente Paterno, Agapito Aquino; former transportation undersecretary Josefina Lichauco, former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez, former Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, former Trade Secretary Juan Santos; former Supreme Court Justice Camilo Quiamson; Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay; television evangelist and defeated presidential candidate Eduardo “Eddie" Villanueva; Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines head Sr. Mary John Mananzan; civil society lawyer Harry Roque Jr., and ZTE broadband deal mess witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. In their open letter, they told Obama the Filipinos shared the wonderful jubilation of Americans when he won the elections. “We joined all freedom-loving people of the world who exulted when you declared that ‘those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent ... are on the wrong side of history,’" they said. “Filipinos yearn for the same kind of leaders that the American people yearn for themselves, leaders who are infused with the right values, lead principled lives, and govern with the highest ethical standards," they added. Well wishers On the other hand, pro-Arroyo ads also came out in Metro Manila newspapers defending Mrs. Arroyo’s trip, titled “Strengthening Bonds: Miles for Progress." The ads cited the “benefits" of Mrs. Arroyo’s past foreign trips including fighting terrorism, investments, Filipino immigrants, veteran benefits, and jobs. “The United States is the Philippines’ strongest friend and ally.... We are bound by a shared history and common values of economic prosperity and a strong democracy," a quote from Mrs. Arroyo was featured in the ad. - GMANews.TV