MAKATI Mayor Jejomar Binay yesterday said he was not discounting the possibility of another "people power" amid calls for the resignation or ouster of President Arroyo.

"Close to 90 percent of the factors that later evolved into the 1986 People Power is present in today’s events," said Binay, also president of the United Opposition.

He said there are similarities in today’s movements against Arroyo and the events that led to Edsa 1 that ousted the Marcos regime.

The renewed calls for Arroyo’s ouster were triggered by allegations of anomalies attending the now cancelled national broadband network project that had been awarded to the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. The alleged irregularities, particularly payoffs, were revealed at the Rodolfo Noel "Jun" Lozada, a former government official and now the Senate’s key witness in its NBN-ZTE investigation.

Binay, a veteran street activist and human rights lawyer during the Marcos years, said today’s protest actions are more varied and widespread compared to the uproar following the "Hello Garci" scandal, in which Arroyo was accused of cheating her way to victory in the 2004 presidential elections.

He said the number of those who are joining protest actions now is increasing, pointing to the February 15 oust-Arroyo rally in Makati that had some 10,000 participants from civil society, Church-based, opposition, militant and various sectoral groups.

A "Mass for Truth" the following day in Greenhills had about 5,000 attendees. Another "Mass for Truth" at the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran Monday was attended by 7,000 to 10,000 people, according to the organizers. The police figure was 4,000 to 6,000.

On Friday, civil society and other sectoral groups are holding an interfaith rally in Makati City.

"Ang mga pagkilos sa ngayon ay malawak katulad noong 1986. Nakikita rin natin ang malawakang suporta ng iba’t ibang sector ng lipunan. Marami sa mga nangyayari sa ngayon ay wala two years ago," Binay said adding that even the normally cautious Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has also weighed in, with its call for "communal action" against graft and corruption in government following Lozada’s revelations.

"Sa ngayon halos lahat ng mga nakakausap ko na pari katulad noong isang taga Visaya ay nagpahayag ng pagka-disgusto sa mga kasalukuyang nangyayari," Binay said.

FIRST STAGES

He noted some Church leaders have openly called for Arroyo’s ouster and that some schools, like Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle universities and the University of the Philippines have also become more vocal in expressing their support for Lozada. This, he said, essentially means the youth’s disenchantment with government.

Binay said the situation can be likened to the "first stages" of the making of a people power event.

On statements of political analysts that the protest movement is doomed to fail because of the absence of a military component, Binay said the snowballing of protest actions across the country would have a much similar effect.

He said the 1986 revolt is basically "people-led" despite the defection of the various military units and officials.

An analyst was quoted as saying security forces would eventually leave Arroyo, especially if the protest actions sustain the momentum, and because there is restiveness among the disillusioned junior and non-commissioned officers in the Armed Forces.

MAGIC’S STILL THERE

Former President Corazon Aquino said the "people power" magic has not vanished, contrary to what critics are saying.

She said people power is based neither on the quantity of the people attending rallies nor the mass actions themselves. It is based on the "awakening of the self within," she said.

Aquino, one of the key figures in the Edsa "people power" 1, said the true strength of numbers can be realized after the potential for greatness of every Filipino is cultivated.

"If there is anything that the past 22 years have taught us, it is the realization that People Power must start from within. People Power resides inside each of us, waiting to be unleashed to trigger a chain reaction that would transform the fabric of society," she said.

"People power is not about quick fixes. It is about bringing people from all walks of life together to build our nation and, by their joint effort, to cultivate shared pride in being Filipino," she said.

PROTEST ACTION

Binay said the interfaith rally at Paseo de Roxas and Ayala avenues would just be a "regular protest action" but organizers are expecting a much bigger crowd.

He said he would be personally responsible for keeping the peace in the three-hour rally which will start at 5 p.m.

He said he gave this assurance to Director Geary Barias, chief of the Metro Manila police.

Two organizations have filed for a rally permit, one of them the Church-based group Solidarity Philippines. – Ashzel Hachero