Police turn Mendiola into garrison for May Day rallies

Mendiola Bridge near Malacañang Palace again became a no-man's zone Tuesday as police "secured" it from various groups holding their traditional "May Day" activities. Radio dzBB reported Tuesday that as early as 5 a.m., police sealed off both lanes of Mendiola Bridge with barbed wire and steel fences after 30 members of a group offered prayers there. The 30 members of "Kasama Pilipinas" offered candles and flowers in front of the monument of freedom fighter Joaquin "Chino" Roces, after whom the bridge was named. The group particularly prayed for those who died in the failed May 1, 2001 siege on Malacañang by supporters of former President Joseph Estrada. After the group left, police sealed off Mendiola Bridge to all traffic. Elsewhere in Manila, police kept tight watch on Liwasang Bonifacio, a freedom park where various labor groups were scheduled to hold their respective Labor Day rites. Police patrol teams were seen prowling the area, the dzBB report said. In northern Metro Manila, the Northern Police District (NPD) sent at least 100 civil disturbance management personnel to Manila to augment the Manila Police District. In southern Metro Manila, Southern Police District head Chief Supt. Roberto Rosales ordered checkpoints at the southern boundary of Metro Manila. Rosales said that while they will not stop labor groups from Southern Luzon from entering Metro Manila to join the rallies, he said they want to make sure the groups are not "infiltrated." - GMANews.TV