Bayan appeals denied rally permit for Bongbong Marcos’ 1st Sona

Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes during an online press conference for the massive protest march that his group and others are planning to mount on June 30, inauguration of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Screengrab from Bayan / Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has filed an appeal with the Quezon City Mayor’s Office to reverse the decision of the Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) not to grant the activist group a permit to rally along Batasan Road during the first State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand Marcos .Jr on Monday.

READ: QC junks Bayan’s permit to rally on Batasan Road for Bongbong Marcos’ first Sona

“We have appealed the denial of our application for a rally permit by the DPOS before the Office of the Mayor,” Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. said in a tweet on Friday.

“Under the law, we deserve to be heard before the denial of the permit. No hearing took place with the DPOS. We hope Mayor Joy [Belmonte] would consider our appeal,” Reyes added.

Update: We have appealed the denial of our application for a rally permit by the DPOS before the Office of the Mayor. Under the law, we deserve to be heard before the denial of the permit. No hearing took place with the DPOS. We hope Mayor Joy would consider our appeal.

— Renato Reyes, Jr. (@natoreyes) July 22, 2022

Reyes also said Bayan hopes to push through with its peaceful Sona protest on Monday, stressing that “the people’s demands need to be heard.”

“Ang problema ay ang krisis ng ekonomiya, karapatang pantao, napakalaking utang, kawalan ng soberanya. Hindi rally ang problema,” he said.

(Economic crisis, human rights abuse, debt, and the loss of sovereignty are the problems. Having a rally is not a problem.)

Quezon City Mayor Belmonte, who is currently in the United States attending a leadership summit sponsored by the US State Department, said she was “made aware” that various groups have asked her to intervene in the denial of Bayan’s rally permit.

“I have instructed the Quezon City DPOS to carefully review the counter-points that were presented, and to determine if there are any possible accommodations or middle ground that they can agree upon. The same will also be applied to all rally permits that are currently with the DPOS,” she told INQUIRER.net via text message.

Belmonte assures that the city government will be discussing these issues during its final Sona coordination meeting on Friday.

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