Arroyo Disrupted at NYC Art Exhibit; Humiliated as Streets of Manhattan : QC IMC

September 15, 2005

For reference: Berna Ellorin, Northeast Regional Coordinator, BAYAN USA
Phone: 646-479-1605 / Email: nychrp @ yahoo.com

Arroyo Disrupted at NYC Art Exhibit; Humiliated as Streets of Manhattan
Echo Calls for Her Ouster

New York-- The final public appearance of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo this
week in New York City was bombarded with protest from Anti-Arroyo
groups so fierce, that she was "clearly in a stage of discomfort"
according to ticketed visitors to the Philippine Consulate who observed
Arroyo hobnobing with VIPs during an art exhibition.

According to Berna Ellorin of BAYAN USA, a co-convenor for the
"Gotta-Go-Glo" tour, "The 90 person protest across the street from the
Consulate commanded chants calling for Arroyo's ouster so loud and
resonant that attendees inside the gallery showing could hear us from
deep inside the Consulate building, disrupting the flow of the
evening's posh event."

All stops were pulled to quell initiatives for another followup
spectacle to last Monday's earlier Anti-Arroyo demonstration, including
harrassment by the New York Police Department and Secret Security
officers.

"An advanced few of us came holding folded up placards, waiting for our
colleagues right in front of the Consulate near a public mailbox. We
were immediately threatened by NYPD and security officials who claimed
we would face arrest if we didn't move, even though all we were doing
was standing on the sidewalk, waiting, " stated Arcy Yuson of
Anakbayan.

But even forcing protestors across the street for the presidential
multi-car grand entrance to the event site could not keep the public's
ogling eyes steady when protestors unfurled a gigantic, blimp-sized
banner reading "Oust the US-Arroyo Regime- Bayan USA."

The "Gotta-Go-Glo" Tour, an initiative of BAYAN USA, NY Coalition for
Gloria's Ouster, NY Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines,
Anakbayan NY/NJ and Philippine Forum Community Action fielded Rapid
Action Teams or RATS, tasked to hound Arroyo at sitings around the
city. Arroyo landed earlier this week with much-anticipation to preside
over the Security Council of the United Nations during the 2005 World
Summit at the UN building.

Anti-Arroyo groups in New York responded early on with a vow to
"humiliate and expose this fake head of state where ever she goes,"
stated Ellorin.

For Arroyo and some 100+ guests at the Consulate that evening, those
objectives for humiliation were sourly met.

Allied organizations that joined the BAYAN USA's Fifth Avenue protest
calling for Arroyo's ouster included the International Action Center,
Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV) Organizing Asian
Communities,Troops Out Now Coalition, The Million Worker March, NY
Labor Against the War, Fight Imperialism Stand Together (FIST), Be Not
Afraid, Black and White Movement, Contak Philippines, and Movement for
a Free Philippines, as well as individuals travelling to New York from
Los Angeles and the Philippines. Even a handful of ticketed guests to
the Consulate who originally came to see the exhibit opted to join the
protest across the street instead.

"The movement to Oust Gloria is a broad, mixed bag of goods. We have
people of different races, nationalities, and orientations forging a
strong unity here in Fifth Avenue calling for Arroyo's removal from
Malacanang. Tonight's protest proved that this is just not a call from
the people of the Philippines, it is call from the people of the
world," Ellorin ended.

Arroyo is expected to return to the Philippines this week, where
nationwide demonstrations calling for People Power 3 and the
establishment of a transitional council in Arroyo's place have
multiplied considerably since impeachment charges against Arroyo--
including bribery, graft, corruption, and record-breaking human rights
violations-- were voted out by Congress earlier this month.

BAYAN USA and allies will hold a "Good bye and Good Riddance, Gloria"
farewell party in front of the Consulate on Friday, September 16
beginning at 5:30pm in front of the Philippine Consulate at 556 Fifth
Avenue and 45th Street. The group also announced plans for a Filipino
contingent to the upcoming national anti-war demonstration in
Washington DC on September 24th, where calls for Gloria's ouster will
be echoed alongside the demand for the removal of US troops in the
Philippines. ###