September 21 Protests Aim To Oust President Rodrigo Duterte
Left-leaning activists on Tuesday, September 19, downplayed
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s semblance of support for the nationwide
protests on September 21 and stressed that these are aimed at the President and
his policies.
President Duterte has declared September 21, the 45th
anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late President Ferdinand
Marcos, as a “National Day of Protest.”
Work in government offices and classes in public schools are
suspended on this day.
Saying he, too, would like to protest his meager salary and
lack of allowance, President Duterte called on the people to join protests
against the government.
In separate statements, militant groups Bayan and Anakbayan
brushed aside the declaration and said protest actions targeting President
Duterte will proceed as scheduled on this day.
“The people can see right through the demagoguery of
President Duterte. What is of utmost importance now is the broad national unity
against the extrajudicial killings, rising tyranny and the return to fascist
dictatorship,” Bayan said in a statement.
The group said it has scheduled protests and gatherings on
September 21 in Bicol, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Davao and Hong Kong.
Anakbayan, for its part, called for President Duterte’s
ouster.
“From the rehabilitation of the Marcoses, elimination of
institutional checks with the P1,000 CHR (Commission on Human Rights) budget
and the SC chief justice impeachment, selecting barangay officials by
appointment, reviving mandatory ROTC, imposing a national ID system, and
charter change through his ‘supermajority’ in Congress, President Duterte is
aiming to install himself as a fascist dictator like Marcos and Hitler,” said
Anakbayan National Chairman Vencer Crisostomo.
The group said similar protests are scheduled on the same
day in other areas of Luzon as well as in the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Our call is to stop all these killings, and we would like
to protest against all these tendencies toward authoritarianism, tyranny,
martial law, one-man rule – whatever President Duterte wants to call it because
we feel that our democratic state is getting narrower and we do not want this
to happen,” she said in a TV interview.
Manila Police District (MPD) Director Joel Coronel said over
1,400 police officers will be fielded to maintain peace and order especially in
Luneta.
Of the 1,400 personnel, 600 will come from the MPD while the
others are the augmentation force from the National Capital region Police
Office (NCRPO).
Coronel said the policemen, whose main task is crowd control
and traffic management, will be deployed as early as 5 a.m. Thursday.
He said they have yet to monitor any direct threat against
the upcoming event but intelligence monitoring is ongoing.
Coronel said they are bound to implement a maximum tolerance
policy but the safety of the public is still their priority.
Source: SunStar Philippines
September 21 Protests Aim To Oust President Rodrigo Duterte
Reviewed by Yen
on
September 20, 2017
Rating:
Post a Comment