FILE PHOTO. Commonwealth Avenue has been the site of many a protest rally during a State of the Nation Address (Sona), and has seen several face-offs between protestors and police officers. INQUIRER.net photo / Zacarian Sarao
MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) has denied the permit to rally filed by the progressive group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) for the first State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Bayan’s application was to conduct a rally along Batasan Road, Quezon City.
“We regret to inform you that based on the recommendation of the Quezon City Police District, your intent to use Batasan Road for your activity on July 25, 2022 is denied,” the DPOS said in a letter to Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. on Tuesday.
It then justified the denial of the permit based on the following grounds:
- Batasan Road is not a freedom park to hold protests, rallies, and mass gatherings
- Such gathering will greatly affect the normal flow of traffic for motorists traversing the stretch of Batasan Road [or] Commonwealth Avenue
‘Copy-paste’ denial
Bayan on Thursday denounced the “copy-paste denial” of their permit to rally, claiming it is “arbitrary and follows the fascist imposition of the police.”
“The DPOS denial suffers from a gross ignorance of the law and sheer laziness,” Reyes said in a statement.
READ: Bayan on security plan for Marcos’ Sona: An ‘overkill and waste of funds’
He further noted, “The DPOS did not exercise its own judgement and independent evaluation of the facts. It did not exercise independence and autonomy as a local government unit. The ‘copy-paste’ denial is also lazy. Naging sunud-sunuran lang sa pulis ang DPOS (DPOS ended up just following the police).”
Reyes later called out the “wrong notion” that rallies may be restricted to freedom parks.
“That is incorrect and is belied by history,” he said. “The SONA 2016 and 2017 rallies were held in Batasan Road despite it not being a freedom park. Annually, rallies were held along Commonwealth Avenue even if it is not a freedom park.”
The Bayan leader also pointed out that according to Batas Pambansa 880, causing traffic inconvenience is not a valid reason to reject their permit.
The said act, established under the rule of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1895, states that a permit shall be granted “unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the public assembly will create a clear and present danger.”
Police can’t arrest peaceful protesters even if they don’t have permits, Reyes argued earlier.
With this in mind, he said: “We will assert our right to peaceful assembly and file charges against police officers who will arrest and harm peaceful protesters.”
“With its scare-tactics, the (Philippine National Police) is only succeeding in showing the world that it is a notorious human rights violator,” Reyes said.
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