A growing movement

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
11/25/2005



Morale of the Erap forces are sky high. The reason is the latest Pulse Asia survey where President Estrada’s rating for the most desirable political alternative to Gloria has again risen, from 9% in previous surveys to 14%. Noli has slid from 30% down to 19%, while Lacson slid from 14% to 13%. This has happened despite their shackling of President Estrada in the Tanay detention place allowed him by the Sandiganbayan. Media, local and international, has no free access to Estrada; all people can see of him are reactions from him and allusions to him in connection with issues emanating from outside his detention.

As we reported in our Wednesday column the FREEDOM movement engaged in a forum at the Sanctuario de San Antonio at Forbes. The Church was again intimidated by the authorities to constrict access to the forum; and media was banned from the forum itself. When I went to visit the forum I was surprised to see the media waiting outside the Spanish type perimeter fence of the Sanctuario, that’s when I found out about the ban on their entry. Still, the media waited outside until the participants of the forum could come out and interviewed them with good results in broadcast and print the next day.

I was really impressed with the voluntarism displayed by the leading lights of the Freedom forum that day. Former NFA administration Edno Joson had a wonderful speech calling for a return to the democratic will, the will of the sovereign. Joson was with the Roco campaign because, as he said, he happens to be from San Beda; esprit de corps of Sanbedistas, of course. It is, however, significant that one who was with the “middle forces” of Roco is now leading one of the movements for the just treatment of Estrada and his return to his rightful place in the country’s political equation.

No less interesting was former air force general Jose Commendador, the last hold out of the 1989 December coup attempt against the elite-coddling Cory Aquino government, who explained his “economic war plan” of mobilizing as much as P 1-trillion capital from the masa, as well as from the more well-to-do social classes, if a powerfully popular leader can lead and make the appeal. Only President Joseph E. Estrada, who was elected by an unprecedented and unparalleled landslide margin of over 100% against his closest rival in 1998, has that popularity and empathy with the people today.

Atty. Boy Imperial of Bicol has a more ideological perspective, being a labor leader. As secretary-general of FREEDOM he was among the first speakers, I missed the earlier part and so am unable to report faithfully his message. I did catch his call for the immediate release of Estrada and the restoration of the will of the people. I had to leave early also and didn’t catch what the others at the presidential table may have discussed, such as former general Angel Sadang and others in the audience. Atty. Noel Medina emceed the affair which starts the ball rolling of a growing movement.

The latent power of Erap Estrada’s mass and growing upper class support will be brought to the surface by this movement. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s massive economic failure; unprecedented political perfidy, depravity and corruption; human rights violations, murder, crime and chaos have shown the contrast that makes Estrada interrupt and short governance idyllic and progressive, a very happy time by comparison to Gloria’s gloomy times. Over and above all these, however, is the growing sympathy the people are beginning to show for Erap’s unjust incarceration.

In the coming days the campaign for the freedom and restoration of Estrada will be brought to all corners of the country. A signature campaign to call for freeing Estrada, aiming at one million signatures, will be conducted all over the country. A Freedom Caravan will be launched to barnstorm through the major towns and cities of the country to spread the message and gather the signatures. Reflecting also Estrada’s plan to save the country, the caravan will pursue the two-year old Erap program Rebolusyon Kontra Gutom (revolution against hunger) and engage in seed distribution throughout the caravan.

Estrada had eleven million voters, and with Admin. Edno Joson, Atty. Alan Paguia, Linggoy Alcuaz, Rez Cortez and local leaders of a broad spectrum of NGOs and political movements traveling with the caravan, the word will spread like wildfire. I wonder how Gloria’s gorillas in the PNP will stop this potential juggernaut? Will they start blocking the paths of the caravans? Will they harass the local NGOs and political leaders who’ll turn up for the signature campaign and see dispersal activities? With these and the appeal for Erap to be freed, the masa will be energized.

After five years Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has proven none of the charges they leveled against Estrada. Estrada is incarcerated while Gloria with evidence galore of crimes against the Constitution and the people go unpunished; but the surveys tell it all, Gloria is the target of scorn and Estrada the object of sympathy and trust. The Freedom movement has sparked a potential prairie fire and Gloria’s henchmen know it – that’s why administration congressman Baterina and other Gloria enforcers have quickly lambasted Freedom chair Edno Joson.

(Tune in from Mon. to Fri. 7:30-8:30am, 1350AM; 6-7pm, 1350AM)