Pinoy ‘Occupants’ to speak in schools, hold rally on Dec. 6

Filipinos behind the Occupy Philippines movement will hold “Occupy" forums in key Metro Manila schools and stage a rally in Mendiola freedom park on Dec. 6, the group announced on its Facebook page Sunday. Occupy Philippines, which stems from a worldwide movement against corporate greed, said it will hold a forum in Diliman, Quezon City – at the Ateneo de Manila University on Nov. 22, and at the University of the Philippines in the first week of December – as well as in Manila at the University of Santo Tomas. GMA News Online was still verifying this information with the schools involved as of posting time. Occupy Philippines added that on Dec. 6, protesters will hold an Occupy Mendiola rally in Manila against “the biggest landlords in the Philippines" and “the rotten system." The first Occupy rally in the Philippines took place on Oct. 14, but the said action ended earlier than expected due to “certain problems." Some observers cited problems such as the disjointed efforts by various Occupy groups all over the country. Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States, “Occupants" worldwide are shouting their rage “against bankers and politicians they accuse of ruining economies and condemning millions to hardship through greed and bad government." The global Occupy movements also sympathize with the “99 percent" – that is, the rest of the world’s population excluded from the 1 percent who represent the world’s richest. ‘Kilusang 99-percent’ The Catholic Church in the Philippines, along with other groups, is also at the forefront of an upcoming movement for the so-called 99-percent of ordinary Filipinos. In an interview with GMA News Online also on Sunday, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the Church has “catalyzed" a coalition of groups similar to the Occupy movements around the world. “We are organizing now the ‘Kilusang 99 Percent’ (K-99) na tulad din ‘yan ng Occupy Wall Street. ‘Listen to the 99 percent,’" said Pabillo, who also chairs the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ National Secretariat for Social Action - Justice and Peace. The bishop said K-99 will involve members from different sectors such as laborers, farmers, fisher folk, indigenous people, and the urban poor. One of their first actions is to release a manifesto by the end of the month to declare their stand on social issues, he added. “Kung hindi ma-organize itong mga sectors na ito, hindi maririnig ang kanilang mga daing," Pabillo explained. “It's time that the government should listen to these people." —MRT/KBK, GMA News