DILG reiterates ban on mass gatherings ahead of SONA 2020
MANILA, Philippines — Days before the president's fifth and penultimate State of the Nation Address, the Department of Interior and Local Government on Thursday issued a memorandum reiterating the COVID-19 task force's prohibition of mass gatherings amid the community quarantine.
Major Gen. Debold Sinas, Metro Manila's police chief, said during a Friday press conference that the memo demanded "strict compliance" with the task force resolution.
When asked whether physical rallies during the SONA would still be allowed, Sinas said in a mix of English and Filipino: "On our initial dialogue, we have agreed to that but we will talk to [the groups arranging protests] because this new directive was issued yesterday. Issued from chief executive of the DILG."
As a result of this announcement, the Quezon City local government has said it will no longer issue permits to groups intending to hold protests during the president's address on Monday.
"All LGUs are constrained by the directive of the national government through the DILG dated July 23 to follow," Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
The city previously issued a statement in support of the public's right to peaceful assembly and Belmonte earlier met with protest organizers to discuss health and safety protocols to be observed during the demonstrations.
When asked about whether the guidelines issued by the Quezon City government would be rescinded, she said "it is understood that the national government's directive supersedes this."
'DILG memo meant to intimidate LGUs, protesters'
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary-general Renato Reyes on Friday slammed the DILG's "last minute" memo, saying it was meant to intimidate both LGUs and citizens planning to protest on Monday.
"It's obvious that the intention of the DILG memo on mass gatherings is to scare the LGU and citizens from protesting on the day of the SONA. This last minute memo is so desperate. If you were really concerned about public health, you should have fired [Health Secretary Francisco Duque III] a long time ago. Rallies are not the biggest threat to public health," Reyes said in a mix of English and Filipino.
He added that Inter-Agency Task Force guidelines are not laws and cannot be used to infringe on the rights of citizens.
"No one should be arrested for the peaceful exercise of one's constitutional rights," he said.
In June, the Commission on Human Rights reminded authorities that they could not “halt fundamental rights including freedom of peaceful assembly and activism” even amid community quarantine.
The commission’s spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia warned that the “carte blanche application of quarantine restrictions may gravely disadvantage the citizens' rights while providing broad powers to the State.”
She added that this imbalance of power was “tantamount to negating any semblance of democracy.”
In July, as the commission's reminder to authorities continued to go unheeded amid the arrest of several protesters, it expressed concern that the arrests made by police "appear to violate the government's own health and safety guidelines."
The CHR said that physical distancing guidelines, in particular, seemed to be disregarded during arrests.
Despite alleged intimidation from authorities, Bayan's secretary-general said its planned SONA protest would continue and that they would maintain minimum health standards like they did during their June 12 mañanita protest.
Reyes added that the group would make a formal announcement regarding the planned demonstration soon. — Bella Perez-Rubio
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