Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes. INQUIRER.net file photo / NOY MORCOSO
MANILA, Philippines — Alliance of progressive groups Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has described the intensified security plan for the first State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as “an overkill and a total waste of public funds.”
Marcos is set to deliver his first Sona at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on July 25.
According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), more than 21,000 security forces will be deployed for the event. Mass actions are also prohibited along Commonwealth Avenue and allowed only in designated freedom parks.
READ: Over 21,000 security personnel to be deployed for Bongbong Marcos’ first Sona
“Sona should not be turned into a war zone,” Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement on Wednesday. “It should not be militarized and should not emphasize police and military power. All this show of force is being [used] to distract us from the real and fundamental issues, and the current lack of a comprehensive government response to address these issues.”
He further stressed, “All the display of police power is overkill and a total waste of public funds.”
Reyes also reiterated that protests during the annual event are done to “provide a counterpoint to the Sona of the President.”
“The [Sona] should be an occasion to discuss issues that affect the people. This is the basic expectation with any president and this is the rationale of the annual protests,” he added.
The march will go on
Reyes bared their plan to pursue a “peaceful protest” during Marcos’ Sona, noting that the PNP cannot declare a “no-rally zone” along Commonwealth Avenue.
“We advise the PNP to refrain from spreading disinformation about the nature and purpose of Sona rallies. The PNP cannot declare a ‘no-rally zone’ and usurp the authority of the [local government units] in granting rally permits,” he said.
During the mobilization, Bayan said it will amplify the “People’s Agenda for Change” — which covers their “clear and urgent demands for the economy, social policy, human rights, peace, good governance, and national sovereignty.”
“We will submit the same to Congress and other institutions. We will measure Marcos Jr.’s so-called ‘inclusive and comprehensive plan’ against the demands and proposals collected from our own consultations with people’s organizations,” Reyes also noted.
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