Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte. Contributed photo
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte declared Wednesday that the city is open to all lawful rallies, events, and programs regardless of political affiliation, as long as the organizers obey all regulations, procedures, and health protocols.
This comes as she rejected claims by her opponent, Rep. Mike Defensor, that the city government denied his camp’s request on November 25 for a rally permit at the Quezon Memorial Circle this December 8. On the same day, Elmo San Diego, chief of Quezon City Public Order and Safety did not pose any objection as long as health protocols are observed.
“The city government even offered the covered gymnasium, one of the newest facilities in QMC, which could seat up to 3,000 people with proper social distancing,” Belmonte said.
However, in a subsequent letter on November 29, the camp of Defensor demanded the use of the Liwasang Aurora facility, a Child-Friendly Zone for families and an open public area, where crowds would be harder to control. San Diego then asked for a coordination meeting to ensure the observance of health protocols. But Defensor, in turn, began attacking the mayor for allegedly rejecting his rally permit request.
City Attorney Niño Casimiro showed the media the timeline of documents, which he says proves that the city government is not blocking anything. “There is nothing being blocked, the QC government has not issued any denial. It is wrong to say that because as you can see, the Defensor camp is the ones thanking us for prompt action.”
Belmonte added that they consulted the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on the matter, and were told that such activities are not yet allowed. The national government through the Commission on Elections has yet to release final guidelines on activities involving political campaigns, as these could pose a risk in the ongoing pandemic.
“A coordination meeting has been set this week with the Defensor Camp to discuss the planned rally and the DILG will be there to align safety guidelines,” the mayor said.
For his part, Atty. Casimiro said this issue is just part of political antics of the opposition to continuously attribute negative news to Belmonte.