Manila - Philippine police went on alert Tuesday for a rally
against efforts to amend the constitution, which critics warned were
aimed at extending the term of scandal-tainted President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo.
More than 10,000 people were expected to attend the protest
Wednesday in Makati City, Manila's financial district, organizers
said.
Senior Superintendent Leonardo Espina, national police spokesman,
said the 15,000-strong Manila police force has been placed on
heightened alert to ensure that the rally would be peaceful and
orderly.
'Our main concern is the great possibility that the mass action
will be infiltrated by saboteurs, terrorists, dissidents and
troublemakers,' he said. 'We will be on the lookout for these
infiltrators and will undertake the necessary actions.'
Espina said police would set up checkpoints on highways leading to
Makati from surrounding provinces to check the movement of such
people.
The military also placed its civil disturbance management units on
standby to help police if they were needed, the armed forces chief of
staff, General Victor Ibrado, said.
The rally, being organized by several leftist groups and
civil-society organizations, is to protest a House of Representatives
resolution calling for the chamber to be turned into a constituent
assembly to draft amendments to the 1987 constitution.
The resolution ignores the Senate's opposition to moves to amend
the constitution. Senators have warned they would challenge the House
in the Supreme Court if it continues with its steps.
Critics are opposed to amending the constitution with less than a
year before presidential and national elections in May 2010. Some
alleged that the efforts to change the charter were aimed at
postponing the vote next year to allow Arroyo to cling to power.
Arroyo, perceived as the most corrupt president the Philippines
has ever had, according to a December public opinion survey, has
vowed that the elections would be held next year despite moves by her
allies to amend the constitution.
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