Effigy of ‘Asiong Salonga’ torched in Pampanga rally

ANGELES CITY – Some 5,000 people from all over Pampanga took to the streets here yesterday, carrying a huge effigy of President Estrada as "Asiong Salonga," a movie role he once played, which they torched amid shouts for his resignation.

Leading the anti-Estrada rally were Gov. Lito Lapid, Lakas-NUCD secretary-general Roberto Pagdanganan and former Internal Revenue Commissioner Liwayway Vinzons-Chato.

This developed as the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) is mulling a nationwide transport strike on Nov. 14 to heed the call of anti-Estrada groups for a "welgang bayan."

Medardo Roda, Piston president, said they support moves to oust Mr. Estrada from office. "(Mr. Estrada) already has his undeserved days in Malacañang so it’s time for him to step down," he said.

Among those planning to join the "welgang bayan (nationwide strike)" are public school teachers who threaten to boycott their classes.

The teachers, belonging to the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), have given Mr. Estrada a failing grade and recommended his expulsion from "the school of the Filipino people."

Officials of the Angeles University Foundation, the Holy Angel University, Chevalier School and Holy Family Academy in this city suspended classes yesterday afternoon to allow teachers and students to participate in the rally spearheaded by the Coalition for the Ouster of Erap (CORE) formed two weeks ago by local multisectoral groups.

The huge effigy of Mr. Estrada reportedly cost about P8,000. It was burned, together with another effigy of a pig in a poke, whose head was that of Mr. Estrada, during the rally at Plaza Miranda in the heart of this city.

Earlier, 14 Lakas-NUCD mayors in Pampanga estimated that no less than 3,000 people from each of their municipalities were expected to join yesterday’s rally. As of noontime, some 5,000 people had already assembled in different points in this city for the march to Plaza Miranda.

CORE spokesman Alex Cauguiran said more rallies will be staged here and in other parts of Central Luzon until Mr. Estrada steps down from office.

"The President has promised to build houses for the poor and low-income families. But for several weeks, we have been shocked (to hear about) the multimillion-peso mansions he has reportedly built in posh subdivisions," he said.

The other day, the Angeles City council unanimously approved a resolution urging the President to "immediately resign to save the country from economic disaster and political upheaval."

The resolution endorsed Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the "constitutional successor to ensure the peaceful and harmonious transfer of presidential powers."

Pagdanganan and Chato urged the rallyists to use mass actions to force Mr. Estrada out of Malacañang. – With Sheila Crisostomo