Group prepares Harry Potter effigy for Aquino SONA

Before President Benigno Aquino III delivers his first State of the Nation Address, a militant group will stage a rally Monday with a Harry Potter-themed effigy. In a statement, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Secretary-General Renato Reyes Jr. said his group will hold its protests near the EVER Gotesco Mall along the Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. Protest activities are barred within the vicinity of the Batasan Pambansa, where Mr. Aquino will deliver his SONA, said Reyes. Harry Potter is the lead character in British writer J.K. Rowling's popular series about the wizarding world, which likewise have been turned into blockbuster movies. "According to the Ugat Lahi artist’s collective which makes the yearly visual, the question they are raising is if the Aquino 'magic' will be enough to bring about genuine change or just the illusion of change," said Reyes. He added his group "vowed to stage a peaceful protest focusing on people's issues and demands for the new government." Reyes likewise said Bayan will not burn the effigy, contrary to what its members have done during the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration. Arroyo, who now represents Pampanga's second district, will not attend the SONA because she will accompany her husband, Jose Miguel, for a medical checkup in Hong Kong. In the same statement, Reyes said Mr. Aquino's first SONA should address the country's economic and fiscal problems, as well as human rights abuses. Aquino had earlier hinted that his address will "shock" the public. His spokespersons also said the SONA will be about problems the new administration inherited from the Arroyo presidency. Reyes said the Aquino government should not prioritize modernizing the military. Militant groups had blamed the Armed Forces for activist killings, even as the military had repeatedly denied such accusations. “With government resources depleted, it also makes no sense in spending so much for the military. Social services should be prioritized over debt spending," he said. —VS, GMNews.TV