‘DEMOCRACY IS DEAD’ A supporter of Vice President Sara Duterte readies for a rally as antiriot police watch at the Senate on Friday. —PHOTO BY MARY JOY SALCEDO
More than 1,000 police officers were deployed at the Government System Insurance Service (GSIS) Complex in Pasay City as Duterte supporters began to gather for a protest coinciding with the commemoration of the 128th Independence Day on Friday, June 12.
In an ambush interview, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) regional director Maj. Gen. Anthony Aberin said a total of 1,090 police officers were deployed at complex, which houses the Senate, as barbed wire was reinstalled along the northbound lane on Diokno Boulevard starting at 8 a.m.
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The Philippine National Police has a unit at the Senate entrance of the GSIS Complex purposely for the security needs of the Senate, but Aberin said the police have increased their presence because of recent security threats.
“We read a lot on social media about it…,” Aberin said. “Because of that, we have enhanced our security outside our Senate.”
The NCRPO regional director, meanwhile, pointed out that they will let protesters conduct a rally outside the building and “will observe maximum tolerance.”
Groups supporting Vice President Sara Duterte, such as Masada, Rage Coalition, and Duterte Riders Supporters (DRS), put up a stage outside the complex on Friday morning for a program they were to conduct in the afternoon.
Stand vs corruption
They also placed a coffin beside the stage, saying that it symbolizes that “democracy is dead” in the country amid what they call “division” and “corruption” happening under the Marcos administration.
“We are gathering in front of the Senate to ask God’s intervention to have peace and unity among our politicians, especially here in the Senate institution,” said a man, who identified himself only as “Onin” and claimed to be the founder of DRS.
About six kilometers away, progressive groups marched along Kalaw Avenue in Manila to call for genuine freedom on Friday, which coincides with Independence Day, June 12.
According to Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary General Mong Palatino, around 2,500 protesters marched along Kalaw Avenue to specifically call for the “urgent dismantling of United States bases and missile systems and the rejection of the Pax Silica, which would lead to the establishment of a weapons hub in the so-called Luzon Economic Corridor.”
No real independence
“There’s no genuine independence as long as US bases and troops are allowed in the country and the US military continues to use our land and water territories as training and staging grounds for its acts of aggression and intervention against other countries,” Palatino said.
Palatino told the Inquirer that they aimed to hold a program in front of the US embassy, but police barriers supposedly prevented them from reaching Roxas Boulevard.
“During the march, we were able to remove one layer of barbed wire barrier. We placed our stage in this area. During the program, we lambasted the continuing foreign domination and the expanded US military intervention in the country,” the group’s secretary general said.
