The Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, where the House of Representatives holds it sessions, will be the venue of the first SONA of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 25, 2022. (Photo from the Facebook account of the House of Representatives)
Alliance of progressive groups Bayan on Sunday vowed to continue with its planned protest actions on July 25, when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), even as the Philippine National Police sought to discourage them from doing so.
In fact, the alliance has already filed an application with the Quezon City local government to hold mobilizations along Batasan Road on that day, said Renato Reyes, secretary general of Bayan.
The highway, which leads to the House of Representatives where Marcos is expected to deliver his SONA, has also been the place for previous SONA rallies in the past.
Reyes reminded the PNP that the annual Sona was often the most appropriate time to “air [the people’s] grievances and press the government to act on their most pressing concerns.”
In particular, Reyes took exception to the PNP’s director for operations Maj. Gen. Valeriano de Leon’s comments asking protesters and activists to stay at home and to simply “monitor” what the incumbent President would do for the next six years of his term.
For Reyes, such comments “display a narrow understanding of how democracy should work,” adding that there were many things that Mr. Marcos needs to hear directly from the people: grievances about runaway inflation, rising prices, low wages, human rights violations, among others.
Bayan along with other progressive groups have crafted their “People’s Agenda,” which they would present during the Sona mobilizations.
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