Christian People's Alliance (MCPA) Monday joined the mounting opposition to the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao. The interfaith group demanded that President Arroyo revoke Proclamation 1959. MCPA is appalled by the “rebellion was in the offing” basis of the Arroyo government in issuing Proclamation 1959. Declaring martial law has always been in Arroyo's mind to silence the people's massive protest actions against her “fascist, corrupt and avid pro-US imperialist administration, especially at the height of the “hello Garci” and NBN-ZTE scandals,” the MCPA statement said. The Maguindanao mass murder is another political scandal and blunder in the Arroyo administration, said the MCPA statement sent to the media. “The declaration of martial law in Maguindanao is Arroyo's desperate act to save face especially in the international community. It is a desperate way of trying to extricate her administration from the public's outrage. President Arroyo wants to create an illusion of being a strong leader who comes down hard on the Ampatuans, her close and favored political allies,” MCPA stated. Arroyo cannot disengage herself from the Ampatuans because she, through the government bureaucracy and the military, has sanctioned the existence of warlords not only in Maguindanao but in many parts of the country, it further said. The MCPA also questioned the timing of the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao. It said the alliance believes there is a “veiled motive” in proclaiming martial law in Maguindanao other than the purpose of ending the Ampatuans' “oppressive, corrupt and criminal rule” in the ARMM.
