Thousands gather at Million People March 2

MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of anti-pork protesters gathered at the Ayala Triangle in Makati City Friday to reiterate their demand for the abolition of the pork barrel system.

Police and militants differed in their estimate of the people who attended the second Million People March.

Senior Superintendent Manuel Lukban, Makati Police chief, said there were about 2,800 protesters, which included the office employees who joined the rally while Renato Reyes Jr., Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary general, estimated 10,000.

“I think they’ve reached their maximum number,” Lukban said in Filipino.

“If you notice, the area on both sides has not been filled up with people,” he added.

Lukban said no untoward incident has been reported to authorities

The groups gathered in parts of Makati as early as 1 p.m. and converged at the Ayala Triangle for the program.

Lukban said roughly 300 police officers were deployed to maintain peace and order, and to ensure the smooth flow of traffic even as several roads were closed to motorists.

Some of the policemen were on board motorcycles as they moved around the rally site.

Chief Superintendent Erwin Villacorte, Southern Police District (SPD) director, for his part said that they were confident that this day’s rally against the pork barrel system would be peaceful just like the first Million People March was in Luneta last August 26.

Villacorte said that they would keep an eye on militants and would enforce maximum tolerance.

Originally posted at 6:31 p.m.

INQUIRER.net

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