The nationwide celebration of Labor Day had been peaceful with mass actions held orderly by labor and cause-oriented groups, the Philippine National Police said Friday.
“We came well prepared for this event. Our preparations and the cooperation of those who took part in the public assemblies were instrumental to the generally peaceful outcome of the event,” Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina said in a statement.
“This only goes to show that peaceful and orderly public assemblies can be held if everyone will cooperate,” the PNP officer in charge said.
In Metro Manila, some 2,200 police personnel were deployed at several freedom parks to ensure the security of the protesters and the public.
While no major untoward incident was monitored by the PNP, it noted that Civil Disturbance Management personnel prevented some groups marching to Chino Roces Bridge on Mendiola Street in Manila.
PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Bartolome Tobias said CDM contingent from the National Capital Region Police Office will remain in their posts “until all activities have culminated and assemblies have dispersed.”
As of Friday afternoon, groups were still monitored to be at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Intramuros, Manila. A smaller group earlier converged at the Mabuhay Rotonda in Quezon City where they held a brief program before marching towards Manila.
“Elsewhere around the country, simultaneous Labor Day activities were also reported in different key cities from as far north as Tuguegarao City and Baguio City, Calabarzon, and down south in Zamboanga City and Compostela Valley,” Tobias added.