Indignation rally against 10 SC justices Monday

Plans are afoot to hold an indignation rally against the 10 Supreme Court justices who junked as unconstitutional EO 1 — creating the Truth Commission — and to seek their resignation, Akbayan party-list, which is spearheading the event, said Sunday. Akbayan Citizens Action Party said in a statement Sunday more than 1,000 people will troop to Supreme Court in an indignation rally Monday. The rally will start at 9 a.m. at Liwasang Bonifacio — formerly Plaza Lawton — in Manila, Akbayan spokesperson Emman Hizon said in an interview with GMANews.TV. The protest march will then troop to the Supreme Court on Padre Faura Street via Taft Avenue, he added. “There will be a program outside the highest court tomorrow [Monday] to show how we do not agree with the decision of the 10 justices," Hizon said. Former Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros and whistleblower Jun Lozada, will lead the protesters and deliver a formal letter to the Supreme Court asking for the resignation of the 10 justices who voted to declare unconstitutional the Truth Commission, which many said is the first step towards justice and accountability. The justices who voted against the validity of EO 1 are: Chief Justice Renato Corona, associate justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Presbitero Velasco, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Martin Villarama, Jose Perez, and Jose Mendoza. Those who voted to uphold the validity of EO 1 are: associate justices Antonio Carpio, Conchita Carpio-Morales, Eduardo Nachura, Roberto Abad, and Ma. Lourdes Sereno — all Arroyo appointees, except for Sereno. Hontiveros, Lozada, and other anti-corruption personalities first called for the resignation of the 10 justices on Dec. 9, saying the court’s decision “emboldens the rule of impunity while hiding its treachery and brazenness under the mantle of rule of law and cold neutrality." “The last bastion of justice has rejected the Truth Commission which is the first step towards the truth," Hontiveros said. The people must once again flex their political muscle and build a powerful movement that will conclude the unfinished task during the “dark" nine years of the Arroyo administration, she stressed. “We will send a strong message to our old, yet unyielding enemy: Hindi sila magtatagumpay sa mga plano nila. Mananaig pa rin ang mamamayan. Kung hindi natin sila natapos noong nakaraang panahon, ngayon, sinisigurado ng sambayanan, tutuldukan natin sila (They will not succeed with their plans. The people shall still overcome. If we were not able to finish them off in the past, this time the people will put an end to their misdeeds)," Hontiveros said in the statement. The recent decision showed Arroyo and her minions as the “real [sic] and present danger" to good governance, justice, and reforms. “The high court’s decision puts in jeopardy the Aquino government’s anti-corruption efforts," she added. — VS/MRT, GMANews.TV