GMA set to kick off Mindanao drive vs Estrada

DAVAO CITY – Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will go to Mindanao tomorrow to start a campaign calling for the resignation of President Estrada over the much publicized jueteng payoff scandal.

Former Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza said Arroyo is expected to arrive in this city tomorrow morning to meet with local leaders who have been waiting for her visit since last month.

"She will come here purposely to hold consultations and explain to the people here why the President should resign," Dureza said.

Arroyo will also meet with various groups, including non-government organizations and Church groups, particularly those affiliated with the Erap Resign Movement, a coalition urging the President to step down.

She is also scheduled to meet with the Kusog Mindanao Foundation which will present what it calls as an "alternative development agenda" for Mindanao. The foundation is hopeful that the Vice President would use their alternative agenda as her blueprint in addressing the problems besetting the country’s second largest island.

The Vice President was earlier invited along with former President Corazon Aquino to a prayer rally to be held today at the Villa del Sol complex in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, who is organizing the rally, said he expects some 50,000 people to attend and join in praying for peace and stability in the country.

Dubbed as the "Ecumenical Prayer Rally for President Estrada to make the Supreme Sacrifice," the event is expected to draw participants from other religious groups such as Methodists, members of the Iglesia ni Cristo and Islamic communities in the province.

Aquino will also be skipping the prayer rally because of a prior commitment. On Wednesday, however, she will be visiting schools in her home province of Tarlac to urge people to join the call for the President to step down.

Meanwhile, with top government officials admitting that they are closely monitoring what’s being said in rallies against the President, militant groups have become cautious in passing information among their ranks.

In Tarlac, for example, leaders of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan now opt for cellular phones with text-messaging capabilities to avoid being monitored by authorities. – With Ric Sapnu, Benjie Villa, Rene Alviar