MANILA, Philippines — Dark clouds and rainshowers — with the threat of the coronavirus thrown in — are not stopping protesters from holding rallies at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, as the country celebrates Independence Day.
Protesters threw some major shade at the national government by calling their action a “Grand Mañanita,” harking back to the much-criticized birthday celebration of National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas last May 8, attended by ranking police officers and Metro Manila cops at the height of the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine.
Rain pounded heavily early morning Friday, but protesters came prepared with their arm of choice — umbrellas and raincoats — as they joined in the chanting, slightly muffled with the face masks covering half their faces, and clenching of fists to protest various government policies, particularly the controversial anti-terror bill now awaiting the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Except for the damp weather and the black tops that most of them wore, the event was festive, even though rallyists appeared to consciously observe social distancing.
The Department of Justice earlier warned that physical protest rallies are “temporarily banned” during the pandemic because of public health concerns.
The Philippine National Police has also urged protesters to hold online rallies instead.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel on Friday morning, PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said that the police force will observe “maximum tolerance” as they monitor Independence Day rallies. even if the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.
“We respect the rights of the people to hold these kinds of actions but at the same time we urge them, please at this time of our fight against COVID-19, this is not the time to hold such rallies or protests and we are in this together in our fight against COVID-19… We have to be part of our national effort to protect the health of the public,” Banac said.