Police report no violence during Labor Day rallies

PHOTO BY RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—No tension developed on Labor Day mass actions on Thursday staged by about 3,500 protesters from Quezon City to Manila, police said.

Superintendent Fernando Opelanio, Manila Police District (MPD) Sta. Mesa station commander, told INQUIRER.net that the rally was “generally peaceful.”

“There were no attempts to incite neither violence nor threats ‎during the rally,” Opelanio said in Filipino.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has been on full alert status since before the visit of United States President Barack Obama to the Philippines last Monday until Tuesday.

But Opelanio said the police doubled the deployment in Mendiola, Manila.

Around 600 elements of the NCRPO and Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB) were deployed in Mendiola, Manila alone.

On Wednesday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced its support to the protest organizers on Labor Day.

But it emphasized that the police will not hesitate to use reasonable force depending on situations that could spark security threats.

RELATED STORIES

PH has highest Asean unemployment rate —ILO report

Labor Day protesters gather in Manila-Quezon City landmark