‘Occupy tree’ people nowhere

Martial law victims, lawmakers, artists, civil society groups, religious groups, students and concerned citizens gather on a rainy Sunday morning at the Luneta Park in Manila to appeal to Duterte to reconsider his decision to allow the burial of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. TARRA QUISMUNDO / PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER

WHO OCCUPIED Rizal Park? And who occupied a tree?

On a rainy Sunday morning, more than a thousand people gathered at Rizal Park in Manila to protest the Duterte administration’s plan to bury dictator Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani next month.

But at least the protest was not an “occupy tree” movement, said host Joel Saracho.

“We were not among those who stayed under a tree. We’re not ‘occupy tree,’” said Saracho, who is also a stage actor and writer.

Dig at Marcos supporters

Saracho’s exchange of banter with cohost Rafaela David and Gio Tingson elicited laughter among the crowd in white shirts, who were pounded by monsoon rains.

The remark was a dig at a rally in May supporting then Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. after the dictator’s son narrowly lost the vice presidential race to then Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo.

About 100 Bongbong supporters in red shirts went to Rizal Park on May 11. Together with lawyer and Marcos loyalist Oliver Lozano, they gathered under a tree in Burnham Green near the Quirino Grandstand to seek shelter from the extreme heat.

In contrast, those who opposed plans to bury the late dictator at Libingan were under dark skies, pounded by heavy rain and wind that drenched speakers and other protesters alike.

They stood on muddy grounds below the stage in the Lapu-Lapu monument area during the two-hour event.

Senior Supt. Bartolome Bustamante, chief of the directorial staff of the Manila Police District, placed the number of protesters at 1,800 at about 8:30 a.m. and at 1,500 when the rally ended at 11:45 a.m.

Two things were common about the protesters in May and on Sunday: their exercise of free speech and use of umbrellas, with the smaller group employing them as shade from the sun and the other group as protection from the rain.

The banter did not end there. An hour later, as rain drenched protesters, the fake war medals worn by Saracho fell off his shirt.

Fake war medals

While he and his cohosts tried to pin the paper medals back, Tingson said: “Ayan, natanggal kasi peke (They fell off because they were fake),” a reference to the war medals the late strongman had claimed were given to him for his heroic deeds during World War II.

Hours after the protesters left, Bustamante said Marcos supporters showed up and occupied the Lapu-Lapu area for a prayer rally at 3:52 p.m. They braved the rains, too, all 50 of them.