LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines — Anti-Charter change (Cha-cha) protesters criticized the Legazpi City police for failing to provide security to a gathering, marking the Edsa People Power Revolution and opposing moves to amend the Constitution.
Instead, the police staged a free concert and a zumba event at Peñaranda Park, opposite the rally of the anti-Cha-cha protesters.
Fortunately, no untoward incident occurred because Lt. Col. Ray Anthony Villanueva, the chief of the Legazpi City police, was too involved in their zumba activity.
“I am not aware of the issues they (groups) raised because I wasn’t listening to them,” Villanueva said on Sunday. “We have our own activity on the other side of the park, which happened to coincide with their rally, which is why we were not aware of the issues they were raising.”
The city police later issued a statement saying they did not even monitor happenings in the protest as they were focused on their event.
The Legazpi City police also denied that their zumba event was purposely held at the same time as the protest to disrupt the event of those opposing Cha-cha.
READ: 700 protesters rally against ‘Cha-Cha’ in Cebu City
The Bicolana Gabriela and Kabataan Party-list Bicol were among the groups that organized the anti-Charter change protests in the cities of Legazpi in Albay and Naga in Camarines Sur on Sunday.
Nica Ombao, the regional coordinator of Bicolana Gabriela, said that the celebration of the Edsa People Power Revolution is also a movement to oppose the revision of the Philippine Constitution and address other “anti-people” government initiatives.
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan was also involved in the anti-Cha-cha rally.
The groups marched from Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center in Daraga town to Peñaranda Park in the Old Albay District of Legazpi City. Almost 100 individuals in this city attended the protest, the groups said.
In Naga City’s Quince Martires Park, over 100 people from different groups in Camarines Sur attended the generally peaceful and undisrupted protest rally.
Ombao said they believe the Legazpi City police intentionally conducted their activity opposite the rally on Sunday, adding that the unit often comes up with its events whenever progressive groups conduct mass protests at Peñaranda Park.