Rallyists ask police: Allow us near Batasan for SONA

Militant groups asked police authorities on Wednesday to allow them to hold an assembly as near to the Batasang Pambansa as possible, when the President delivers his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26. In a dialogue with police authorities and local government representatives, civil society groups vowed they will stage a “peaceful rally" on Monday, adding that letting them hold a rally near the Batasan will be a “good gesture" on the part of President Benigno Aquino III. “During the Arroyo administration, the distance of the rally site from Batasan has been symbolic of the great gap between the government and the people. Letting the people go near Batasan on July 26 will be a good gesture on the part of the Aquino administration," said Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.
Aquino is set to deliver his first SONA on Monday when the 15th Congress convenes, with the Lower House and the Senate gathered in joint session at the Batasan Pambansa complex in Diliman, Quezon City. Reyes noted that during the first SONA of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, rallyists were allowed to troop to as far as the Sandiganbayan building, at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Batasan Road, just a few minutes away from the Batasan building. In recent years, however, protesters were allowed only up to the Ever Gotesco Mall on Commonwealth Ave., which is still a jeepney-ride away from the Batasan. Metro Manila police chief Director Roberto Rosales said he will confer with the Presidential Security Group and the office of Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista on the groups’ request. The dialogue was organized by the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) to ensure that there will be no crimes, human rights violations and clashes between the police and civil society groups. 10,000 police to be deployed During the dialogue, the QCPD reiterated its earlier announcement that some 10,000 police personnel will be deployed along Commonwealth Ave. for area and route security, crowd control and traffic management. The police officers will form Task Force Quezon, to be headed by QCPD director Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele and deployed at the Batasan and other nearby areas such as the Quezon Memorial Circle, Sandiganbayan, Ever Gotesco and St. Peter’s Church. Rosales said the traffic rerouting scheme is still being finalized, but Commonwealth Ave. will be cleared of obstructions, such as parked cars, starting midnight of July 25. Traffic rerouting will start at 6:00 a.m. on July 26. The northbound lane will be closed to traffic, while the southbound road will have two lanes. The QCPD is advising travelers to take alternate routes such as via Visayas Ave., Mindanao Ave. and Sauyo road to avoid the expected heavy traffic. The police also said that evacuation plans are also in place in cases of untoward incidents, and hospitals in the vicinity such as the New Era Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Malvar Hospital, and Veterans Memorial Medical Center are prepared to accommodate casualties. The Quezon City Red Cross said at least 15 ambulances manned by doctors, nurses and first-aid givers will be on standby to transport patients. No ‘wang-wangs’ even on SONA In the same dialogue, Rosales said Aquino’s directive against the use of “wang-wang" or sirens remains in effect even for the SONA. “No wang-wangs, no counterflow, even (for) the President’s convoy," Rosales He likewise said police officers have been instructed to exercise maximum tolerance and respect the human rights of protesters. They will likewise be in uniform with their nameplates and unarmed. “We will conduct an inspection and ensure that no one will not be sporting his nametag and nobody will have firearms," Rosales said. “The police will only be armed with cameras," he added in jest, supposedly to document their conduct of crowd control, apart from the eight closed-circuit TV cameras installed at several spots along Commonwealth Ave. A representative of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said they will also be deploying teams composed of investigators, doctors and lawyers in the area. Traditions since 1897, 1970 The President’s annual address to Congress on the state of the nation has evolved into a legal tradition since Andres Bonifacio’s address to the 1897 Tejeros Convention, through the Commonwealth period, up to the post-war and post-Marcos Philippine republics. The current practice of SONA, as mandated by Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution, requires the President to "address Congress at the opening of its regular session," set by law to be held every fourth Monday of July. The Lower House and the Senate hold offices at separate sites, with the Lower House at the Batasan in Quezon City and the Senate at the GSIS Building in Manila, several kilometers away. However, joint sessions of the two chambers are traditionally held at the Batasan. The tradition of protest rallies during the President’s SONA, on the other hand, dates back to the January 26, 1970 rally, during President Ferdinand Marcos’ SONA 40 years ago. The historic rally, forcibly dispersed by anti-riot police, sparked a protest movement that later came to be known as the First Quarter Storm. Since then, many SONA’s have been marked by major protest rallies and tense confrontations, which in several instances have been marred by violent clashes between protestors on one side and police and troops on the other side.—JV, GMANews.TV