13 July 2005 :

AKBAYAN today warned the President that the Filipino people is capable of using extra-constitutional mechanisms to remove her if she continues to refuse to listen to the demands of various sectors that are pushing for her resignation. The group said that extra-constitutional means remain to be a legitimate and valid option, especially if the available constitutional remedies will just be tainted by the same traditional politicians who are interested in securing their political future.

"Extra-constitutional solutions are not necessarily unconstitutional. If President GMA refuses to resign, the option of ousting her from office is valid," Ronald Llamas, AKBAYAN President, said.

AKBAYAN insists that the President has already lost the moral ascendancy and legitimacy to govern. "She has continuously refused to speak categorically on the allegations of electoral fraud and the truth behind the 'Hello Garci' tapes. Instead, she would rather allow her minions spin the truth and maximize the flaws of existing political institutions to mitigate the accountability being demanded by the people from the President," Llamas added.

Llamas also rejected the formula for charter change that former President FVR is proposing. "No credible system change will happen under the GMA regime. The FVR proposal is not only silent on the future of GMA, which means that they are willing to let her go just to secure their own political interests. More importantly, it is curiously silent on how we can deepen the accountabilities of all public officials. They focused instead on how to institutionalize neoliberalism as the constitutional economic framework, the same policies that has worsened poverty in the country and widened the divide between the rich and the poor," Llamas said.

AKBAYAN joined the hundreds of thousands of protestors calling for President GMA's removal from office. AKBAYAN vowed that it will launch more protest activities in the future.

http://www.akbayan.org

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Akbayan is a member organization of
LABAN NG MASA (Fight of the Masses):

Chairperson
Dr. Francisco Nemenzo, Jr.

National Council and Initial Members

AKBAYAN! - http://www.akbayan.org/
Alab Katipunan
All Moro
Alliance of Progessive Labor (APL) - http://www.apl.org.ph/
Anak Mindanao (AMIN)
Alyansa ng Sambayanan para sa Pagbabago (ASAP)
Bangsamoro People’s Bureau
Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) - http://www.geocities.com/bukluran
Bukluran sa Sosyalistang Isip at Gawa (BISIG)
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Asia-Pacific (CATW-AP)
Confreedem
FilDem
Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) - http://www.freedomfromdebtcoalition.org/
KALAYAAN! - http://www.geocities.com/makakalayaan
KASAMA
Kilusang Mangingisda
Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD)
Kongreso ng Maralitang Mamamayan para sa Kalayaan (KOMPAK)
Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Pilipinas (KPMP)
League of Urban Poor for Action (LUPA)
Liga Manggagawa
Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan (MAKABAYAN)
Movement for the Advancement of Student Power (MASP)
Padayon - http://www.philsol.nl/org/padayon/programa-set99.htm
Pambansang Kaisahan ng Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (PKMP)
Pambansang Katipunan ng Makabayang Magbubukid (PKMM)
Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK)
Pandayan
Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) - http://partidongmanggagawa.org.ph/
PhilNet-RDI
Resource Center for People’s Development (RCPD)
Sanlakas - http://www.geocities.com/sanlakasonline/index.html
UMALAB KA
Ugnayan ng mga Nagsasariling Lokal na Organisasyon sa Kanayunan (UNORKA)

Individual members

Prof. Randy David
Fr. Robert Reyes
Prof. Walden Bello
Ms. Maitet Diokno-Pascual
Ms. Princess Nemenzo
Bishop delos Reyes
Mr. Al Senturias
Atty. Roel Pulido
Dr. Guy Estrada Claudio
Mr. Milo Tanchuling
Mr. Max de Mesa
Mr. Joel Rocamora

Secretariat
c/o Institute for Popular Democracy - http://www.ipd.ph/