7,000 cops for Aquino’s SONA overkill—Bayan

MANILA, Philippines—Who’s your boss again?

By authorizing massive police deployment for his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Aquino is “distancing himself” from the same public he had acknowledged as his boss a year ago, according to a militant group.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) slammed on Sunday as “overkill” the state’s plan to deploy some 7,000 police officers inside and around the Batasang Pambansa complex when Aquino delivers his SONA a week from now.

“For someone who says the people are his boss, Aquino sure takes a lot of effort preventing the people from being heard. If he’s as popular and secure as he claims, why surround himself on SONA with thousands of police and soldiers?” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.

Reyes also decried the recent police dispersal rehearsals as part of a “psy-war” to scare people away from the planned protests.

“The massive police deployment and even the police rehearsals for dispersing protesters are creating the mind-set that there will be violence and chaos on July 25. It’s part of the government’s psy-war scheme to dissuade people from joining protests to air their grievances,” Reyes said.

Bayan, an umbrella organization of multisectoral militant groups, mobilizes SONA rallies every year. It has been planning to gather at least 8,000 protesters this year, similar to the 2010 count, if not raise the figure to 10,000, Reyes said.

The group sought a rally permit from the Quezon City government on Friday and asked to be allowed to march up to Batasan Road. SONA rallies are traditionally barricaded on Commonwealth Avenue.

“The security preparations are reminiscent of the time of Gloria Arroyo. It’s still the same tact of keeping people as far as away from Batasang Pambansa as possible,” Reyes said.

“Government should not be paranoid. It should let the people assemble peacefully and deliver their own state of the nation address as near as possible to Batasan. That is the people’s political statement,” Reyes said.