Thousands assemble for anti-Arroyo rally in Makati

Thousands of anti-Arroyo demonstrators representing various militant, civil society, and Church organizations have started massing in Makati City, prompting authorities to close down Ayala Avenue from Edsa to Buendia from traffic. GMA 7 News Report said among the groups who arrived first at the Ninoy Aquino Monument near Paseo de Roxas were the Concerned Citizens Group, Partido ng mga Manggagawa, Laban ng Masa, and Gabriela. Supt. Gilbert Cruz of the Makati City Police placed the number of rallyists at 6,000 as of 4:30 p.m. Personalities such as former vice president Teofisto Guingona, former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) head Armida Siguon-Reyna, and Fr Robert Reyes were already at the site, the report said. Members of the United Opposition led by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay were also present. Also present was in the rally was Jose "Joey" De Venecia III, the ZTE witness who had implicated First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in the controversial broadband scam. The program, which started around 4 p.m., is expected to last up to 8 p.m. The groups are calling for the immediate resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the allegedly anomalous national broadband transaction with China's ZTE Corp. continues to hound her administration. The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) had earlier deployed a total of 2,000 policemen to secure major areas in Metro Manila in preparation for the rally. National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr said NCRPO deployed the policemen in Makati City, Manila, and at the EDSA Shrine in Mandaluyong City. Razon said augmentation troops from the Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) are on stand-by at Camp Aguinaldo, to be tapped whenever necessary. - GMANews.TV