MANILA, Philippines—About a thousand protesters donned in yellow and white shirts gathered in front of the Supreme Court to call for the resignation of Chief Justice Renato Corona, whom described as a “public enemy of the Edsa people power revolution.”
A day before 26th anniversary of the historic Edsa Revolution, the pro-administration protesters trooped to the Supreme Court along Padre Faura, Manila “to call on the people to relieve the spirit of Edsa and stand up against modern day enemies of Edsa.”
Riza Hontiveros, spokesperson of militant group Akbayan, said Corona and his “political patron, former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,” tried to “frustrate” truth, justice and accountability.
To this, she said the Filipinos should once again harness their strength to remove the chief justice “crown” from Corona’s head.
“This new type of people power must be based on active citizenship, informed actions and strong vigilance from the public,” she said.
Hontiveros also compared Corona to former President Ferdinand Marcos, who likewise “desperately” tried to court public support for his dying regime, but added that despite such, Marcos failed to prevent his downfall.
She said that Corona shouldn’t wait any longer for the result of the ongoing impeachment trial, but just voluntarilly step down.
Due to the throng of people, the stretch of the road in front of the Supreme Court was closed down to traffic, causing heavy traffic along Taft Avenue.
Security head, Inspector Tom Corpuz from the Manila Police District said that the movement would only take only about an hour or two, but the crowd was likely to grow further.
No untoward incident has been recorded as of posting time, he said, adding that police officers have been deployed around the area to maintain order.