On Friday, March 3rd, and every Friday until the state of emergency ends, the Gabriela Network says, it will hold Emergency Rallies in San Francisco Against the State of Emergency in the Philippines. People will gather at Sutter and Powell in San Francisco from 5pm to 7pm to demand an end to the state of emergency, the ouster of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and freedom for the six party-list congresspeople who were arrested in the last week, and all political prisoners. The Gabriela Network is an organization of women in the US and the Philippines.

There will be weekly picket lines on Mondays in Washington DC; on Tuesdays in Seattle; Wednesdays in New York; Thursdays in Chicago; Fridays in Los Angeles and San Francisco; Saturdays at Irvine; and Sundays in San Diego. The date on which President Arroyo declared a State of Emergency/Martial Law was the 20th anniversary of the "People Power" movement to oust dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Rallies that have been held since then have been violently dispersed, and warrants have been issued for activists from grassroots organizations. Read more about Arroyo's actions and the San Francisco rallies

It is believed that "no Philippine president would dare undertake such a drastic grab for power without the approval of its colonial master." The Gabriela Network says that it is "no coincidence that this comes while 5,500 US troops are in the Philippines... the largest number of US troops to be in the country in a decade. The US sees the Philippines as the second front in the war on terror and views Arroyo as one of its closest allies. It also intends to open new bases territories close to the region's vast oil and natural gas reserves."

Gabriela Network | Bulatlat website | 2/28: Arroyo Widens Purge of Suspected Coup Plotters | 2/27: AKBAYAN: to bury the truth, GMA killed Philippine democracy | 2/27 article: Philippine president imposes state of emergency after alleged coup attempt | 2/24: STATE of EMERGENCY has been imposed in the PHILIPPINES! | 2/24: Gabriela's Protest Announcement