Youth ‘rap’ raps vs Esperon
Garci General will taint credibility of May polls
Giving street protests a new twist, members of Kabataan Partylist together with hip-hop groups transformed campaign slogans and speeches into rap music to convey the youth’s demand for the immediate dismissal of Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon.
Wearing “bling-blings” that spell out their demands and holding placards written in graffiti style, Kabataan Partylist said the dismissal of General Esperon, who figured prominently in the Hello Garci scandal in the 2004 elections, is necessary in ensuring a clean and honest elections.
Kabataan Partylist president and first nominee Raymond Palatino said rap music has always been a music of protest which was also used during the anti-slavery movement and civil rights movement in the United States.
“Rap music shows both the youth’s creativity and innovativeness in using words and at the same time serves as an effective medium in conveying the youth’s clamor for honest and orderly elections,” Palatino explained.
Various student and youth leaders also delivered their speeches using rap to further explain General Esperon’s role in the massive electoral fraud in the last elections and his possible involvement in new efforts to rig the results of the upcoming polls.
Singing “Esperon, operator sa halalan, utak pa sa dayaan,” the group said Gen. Esperon was one of the four generals mentioned in the Hello Garci tapes which suggest their possible involvement in the alleged manipulation of election results.
Two stanzas in Kabataan’s main rap jingle spoke of the general’s role in the implementation of the Oplan Bantay Laya 2 which led to the deployment of military troops and alleged electioneering of military personnel.
“Now Bantay Laya binaba, mil. deployment sa Maynila, nananakot naninira, sa ayaw magpakatuta.”
“Harassment, abduction, killing, militarization, kahit labag sa Constitution, Army aktibo sa election.”
“It is for these reasons that we deem it improper and highly suspect that Gen. Esperon remain at the leash of the AFP during this electoral period.”
“For as long as Gen. Esperon remains the front man and the main operator of the AFP, the youth and the public cannot hope for a truly clean and honest 2007 elections.”