Progressives defy police in Luneta to call for Marcos-Duterte resignation

MANILA, Philippines – The call was clear in Luneta on Sunday, November 30: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte should resign. It was the dominant call of the giant posters and the speeches on stage, all of which almost did not happen because of a police blockade.

Overnight before Sunday, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) announced that the protesters cannot mount a rally in Luneta without a permit. Rally organizers led by the progressive group Bayan insisted they have secured the clearance from the office of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, which later dribbled the jurisdiction to the MMDA and the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC).

“Ano ang nangyari kagabi biglang may overkill sa security preparation sa Mendiola, napaligiran ang Malacañang ng mga barbed wires container vans, concrete barrier, baka praning na ang Malacañang na lulusubin na ng taumbayan ang Palasyo,” said Bayan Secretary General Mong Palatino early Sunday morning.

(What happened last night, why was there suddenly overkill in the security preparation in Mendiola? Malacañang was surrounded by barbed wires and container vans, concrete barriers, maybe Malacañang is so paranoid that Filipinos will charge into the Palace.)

Organizers have secured a verbal permit from Cesar Chavez, Moreno’s chief of staff, who later said that while they “interpose no objection to the protest rally” and “will provide the same assistance,” the coordination should have been with MMDA and NPDC.

“That’s exactly what we did,” said Teddy Casiño, chairperson of Bayan. Casiño pointed to the portable toilets deployed by the MMDA to the site, and the rerouting plan co-designed by the Manila Police District, as proof that all was well before late Saturday night.

“Either sila ay masyadong napa-praning o sa tingin namin ayaw talaga nila ma may rally sa Maynila dahil dito sa rally na ‘to magpapangalan kami ng mga corrupt,” said Casiño.

(Either they were too paranoid or we believe they really don’t want a rally in Manila, because in this rally we will name the corrupt.)

The police was so strict that a commotion erupted when a student busking group, who traveled 5 hours from Tarlac, was barred from unloading their drum. They were eventually allowed to after tense discussions with leaders from the Concerned Artists of the Philippines, but Manila Station 5 commander Alfonso Saligumba III said they can only busk for 15 minutes.

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Occupy Luneta

Vehicles continued to traverse the road, with little sign of police backing down. A few minutes after 9 am however, a large number of protesters led by Act Teachers Partylist Representative Antonio Tinio marched from the United Nations avenue corner and charged to Roxas Boulevard. “Occupy!” they screamed, and they did. They stopped in front of the Jose Rizal monument where the police had formed a blockade.

A few more minutes after, an even larger number of protesters appeared from the other side on Padre Burgos, descending upon Roxas Boulevard with the calls that might have spooked the Marcos administration: Marcos and Duterte should resign, and a transition council should be formed.

The police broke their line, and allowed the program to proceed, which managed to start past 11 am, or two hours later than scheduled. Bayan estimates that 20,000 showed up in Luneta. Palatino said that the Manila LGU, MMDA and NPDC all did not object, “pulis lang talaga (only the police).”

“Si Marcos at Duterte, walang pinag-iba, parehong tumatanggap ng donasyon mula sa mga contractor, parehong nakangisi dahil lusot sa Kongreso ang budget nila nang walang tanong tanong. Nag-aaway kuno pero parehong namumunini sa pera ng bayan. Kaya kung may delicadeza sila, hindi ba dapat mag-resign na sila para mabawasan ang problema ng bansa,” said David San Juan, a professor and convener of the Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance or Tama Na.

(Marcos and Duterte are no different, they both accept donations from contractors, both delighted because their budget passed through Congress without scrutiny. They are supposedly fighting but both swarming in people’s money. So if they have delicadeza, shouldn’t they resign so the country can have less problems?)

Some of the youth groups in Luneta also echoed the call for the President and the Vice President to resign.

Days before the protest, both Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla warned against any act or speech that may constitute inciting to sedition.

“Ang Malacañang, bawat salita kontra korapsyon, umaabot sa kanila eh, kumakatok sa kanila. May mga nag-resign na mga Cabinet officials, mga alter ego na malalapit sa Pangulo. Sa kanila ang init. Malacañang is insecure, it’s under siege, survival mode day to day dahil hindi nila matakasan ang development na mga opisyal na ng Palasyo ang naiinvolve,” said Bayan president Renato Reyes, responding to the warnings against so-called seditious acts.

(Every word against corruption touches Malacañang, reaches their door. Cabinet officials, the alter egos of the President, resigned. They’re under the heat. Malacañang is insecure, it is under siege, they’re on survival mode day to day because they cannot escape this development where Palace officials are already involved.)

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and his grand nephew, Palace Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin, have been accused of directly or indirectly asking for insertions and kickbacks from the infrastructure budget. Both have resigned.

Discord with the EDSA rallies

“There’s no escalation in terms of violence, it’s not on the agenda,” said Reyes.

“But there may be escalation in terms of anger. Damdamin ‘yun eh, hindi namin puwedeng sabihin kung hanggang saan lang ang galit mo, paano kung ‘yung iba galit talaga sa Presidente, sa bise presidente, sa buong sistema? Pero wala namang nagsasabi na ngayong araw mababago na natin ang gobyerno, that’s not our agenda today, pero gusto natin mabago,” said Reyes.

(Those are feelings, and we cannot tell people to temper their anger, especially if they’re really angry at the President, the Vice President, and at the entire system. But no one’s saying we will change governments today, that’s not on our agenda today, but we would like to change it.)

For BPO workers who also trooped to Luneta, their messages to Marcos and Duterte is “you are both fired today.”

This is the major difference with the rally at the People Power Monument along EDSA, where at the same time, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David asked: “Kung resign all agad, ano ang alternatibo? Ano ang kasunod?” (If we call for their resignations immediately, what’s the alternative? What happens next?)

The Catholic leader went as far as saying, “Hindi sa Luneta dahil hindi pa tayo naniniwala sa panawagan ng mga naroon sa kasalukuyan.” (Not in Luneta because we still don’t believe in the calls of the people who are there now.)

Palatino said there were attempts to unite for the November 30 anti-corruption rallies. “Pero nagkaroon ng deadlock, ayaw nila ng iba pang banners and placards na iba ang panawagan. Sabi namin wala dapat pagpipigil, wala dapat censorship, ‘yan ang ayaw natin kaya hindi nagsama-sama,” said Palatino.

(There was a deadlock, they did not want some of the banners and placards that had a different call. We believe they shouldn’t prevent anything, there shouldn’t be any censorship, that’s what we don’t want so we weren’t together.)

“It’s not a competition that you have to choose,” said Gabriela Women’s Partylist Representative Sarah Elago, “Lahat ng nakasama natin sa paglaban sa korapsyon, lahat ng nakasama natin sa pagbabago ng sistema, lahat ng nananawagan ng hindi Marcos o Duterte kundi tunay na pagbabago, kasama natin sa laban.”

(Everyone who fights corruption, who’s with us in changing the system, everyone whose call is not pro-Marcos or pro-Duterte but pro-meaningful change, are with us in this fight.)

– Rappler.com