Ditch SONA mass gatherings, help prevent COVID-19 spread, protester told

File photo shows protesters marching toward the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City where President Duterte was scheduled to deliver his fourth State of the Nation Address last year,
(INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ)

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Sunday appealed to the public to avoid mass gathering related to President Rodrigo Duterte’s penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, as it is the “fastest way” to spread the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

DILG earlier released a memorandum stressing that mass gatherings are still prohibited.

“We appeal to the rally organizers not to compromise the health and welfare of the people,” DILG spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a statement.

“We ask them not to be blind to the scientific evidence that mass gatherings are the fastest way for the virus to spread among their ranks which can then infect their families and ultimately their communities,” he stressed.

While he agrees that the public has their right to assemble, Malaya noted that the country is in the middle of the pandemic and that gatherings are “subject to reasonable regulation of the authorities to protect public health and the general welfare.”

Despite warnings from authorities, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. said protest actions will continue on Monday, July 27.

“Sa kabila ng desperadong pananakot ng administrasyon, hindi patitinag ang iba’t ibang kalahok sa SONAgKAISA rally sa UP [University of the Philippines] Diliman mula 10am to 12nn,” Reyes said in a Facebook post.

(Despite the administration’s desperate attempt at intimidation, we will remain immovable in the SONAgKAISA rally in UP Diliman from 10am to 12nn.)

“Hindi na kailangan ng permit para makapag protesta sa loob ng UP kung saan kinikilala ang academic freedom. Lahat ay inaanyayahang magtungo sa University Avenue kung saan isasagawa ang programa,” he went on.

(A permit is no longer needed to protest inside UP where academic freedom is recognized. Everyone is invited to go to University Avenue where the program will be held.)

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