MANILA, Philippines — Over 2,550 police officers will secure Metro Manila as “Black” protests against corrupt government officials and contractors involved in anomalous flood control projects are set for Friday.
About 1,250 personnel from five police districts will be positioned in key areas while 1,300 policemen will serve as reactionary standby support forces, according to Metro Manila police spokesperson Maj. Hazel Asilo.
At yesterday’s news briefing at Camp Crame, Asilo said police monitored five potential protest actions on Friday.
Protesters are expected to gather at the Don Chino Roces Bridge along Mendiola street and the Department of Public Works and Highways central office in Port Area, Manila.
Police said they are verifying reports of rallies planned at the Senate, House of Representatives and along EDSA.
While no credible threats have been monitored, Asilo said police personnel would be deployed to maintain peace and order.
The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) has beefed up security at the Batasang Pambansa complex after eight policemen were injured when violence erupted during a rally last Friday.
Acting QCPD director Col. Randy Glenn Silvio said they have a security plan in place to prevent a repeat of the incident.
Pasig police chief Col. Hendrix Mangaldan, for his part, said personnel are ready for deployment in case protesters again storm the compound of St. Gerrard Construction, a firm owned by controversial contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya.
‘Turn outrage into hope’
Amid probes into anomalous infrastructure projects, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) yesterday said people should transform their outrage into a “sustained proclamation of hope.”
Fifteen contractors, including the Discayas’ St. Timothy Construction Corp., reportedly cornered 20 percent of the P545-billion budget for flood control projects nationwide in the past three years.
Congress should strengthen laws protecting whistle-blowers, regulate campaign financing, mandate citizen participation in infrastructure project monitoring and criminalize negligence in public works, CEAP stressed.
Strict enforcement of open and competitive bidding and government transparency in procurement processes should be achieved, the group said.
Oversight bodies and the judiciary should be swift in penalizing erring contractors and public officials, CEAP said.
Macos’s ‘crocodile tears’
Meanwhile, Bayan secretary general Raymond Palatino said President should spare the public from his “crocodile tears“amid his dismay over rampant corruption under his administration.
Filipinos are not fooled by the recent podcast of Marcos where he appeared shocked over the billions of pesos in public funds stolen by government officials and contractors.
Meanwhile, the August Twenty-One Movement or ATOM has revived its Anti-Cronyism Movement amid the flood control mess. — Evelyn Macairan