THE INDIGENOUS people or “lumad” who traveled from Mindanao to Manila last month to demonstrate against the militarization of their communities announced Sunday they would continue their protest action despite tight security measures owing to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit this week.
The group of around 700 protesters now camped at Redemptorist Church in Parañaque City, said they rejected police requests to postpone their protest, dubbed “Manilakbayan,” until after the tightly guarded Apec summit.
“It’s appalling that our own government is much more willing to listen to foreign investors in the Apec summit. We all know this means further poverty, destruction of the environment and incessant militarization in areas where resistance against development aggression flourish,” said Manilakbayan spokesperson Datu Jomorito Goaynon.
Goaynon said they were now “more determined” to show their rage against the continuous disregard by the Aquino administration of “lumad issues, especially militarization, plunder and continuing attacks in their communities.”
After being evicted from their camp at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on Thursday, the lumad of Manilakbayan moved to the Redemptorist Church grounds in Baclaran.
The church rector, Fr. Joey Echano, said the vicinity of the church was open to anyone, especially to those who were victims of oppression.
But with their transfer to a new location, the group said the police followed them and even asked them not to conduct protests during the summit.
Goaynon said they did not agree to the police request as it was just “another comedic attempt to thwart the raging resistance of the lumad.”
The group said riot police with shields and truncheons arrived at Baclaran church on Saturday afternoon on board three buses and formed a barricade at the entry and exit of the church grounds, stopping Manilakbayan protesters from getting out.
Parañaque police chief Senior Supt. Ariel Andrade denied stopping the protesters from leaving the church.
He said the police were deployed to the area to monitor the Apec route and to clear out illegal vendors.
Earlier, Malacañang said the country would offer “vast democratic space” so that even global activists coming to Manila to protest against Apec would be allowed to take to the streets with their Filipino counterparts.
However, the Palace said they would need to obtain rally permits. They would be prevented from staging demonstrations in areas that had been declared off limits per Apec security policies. Roxas Boulevard is one such off-limits area.
Palace spokesperson Abigail Valte said the rules for granting rally permits to foreigners would be the same as those imposed on Filipino activists.
According to media reports, 350 activists from 36 countries have arrived in Manila to protest against Apec, claiming that the economic policies emanating from the forum do not benefit the majority of the people in the region.
Last July, the Philippine government deported foreigners for joining rallies during President Aquino’s address to a joint session of Congress.
Although the country is a signatory to the universal declaration of human rights and says that it respects freedom of expression, the Bureau of Immigration has said that foreigners did not have such rights in the Philippines.