Pro-democracy group launched

A new group which espouses the masses’ cry for genuine democracy and justice was launched yesterday at the Bayview Plaza Hotel in Manila with political and legal luminaries in attendance.

Called the Pagkakaisa ng Masa Para sa Demokrasya at Hustisya (Union for Democracy and Justice), the group was organized to provide a forum for the expression of ideas and discussion on democracy and justice as viewed by the common people.

Organizers said the launching of the new group coincided with the 109th founding anniversary of the KKK.

Former President Joseph Estrada’s spokesman Jesus Crispin Remulla said that the launching date was significant because the KKK was also a mass-based organization that stood and fought for the rights of the masses who were oppressed during the Spanish era.

Remulla urged the participants composed of members of various urban poor and other mass-based organizations "to be vigilant and to protect the Constitution which is the framework of our democracy."