MANILA, Philippines — Police arrested 209 members of Lakbayan ng Timog Katagalugan for refusing to cease their street protest yesterday in Muntinlupa.
Set to join demonstrations in Metro Manila during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, the group’s 70-kilometer protest march ended after holding a program on Manuel L. Quezon street in Barangay Sucat.
“We asked them to go home already to where they came from, and we even offered rides for them, but they insisted on pushing through with their activities, including burning an effigy,” Southern Police District director Brig. Gen. Rodel Pastor told The STAR.
“At first, it was OK for them to hold activities at the people’s park where fewer people were disrupted, but around 2 p.m., they went out into the street and began their program, which we did not authorize,” Pastor said.
Charges of illegal assembly and public disturbance will be filed against the protesters.
Other charges could be filed against over 20 rallyists who sought shelter in a convenience store.
Truckloads of protesters, some of whom were elderly and pregnant, were brought to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig where the National Capital Region Police Office is located.
The NCRPO has doubled down on its statements against protesters.
“We’re exercising maximum tolerance, but (it’s a different story) once police become at risk,” NCRPO officer-in-charge Brig. Gen. Christopher Abrahano told The STAR.
Kilusang Mayo Uno chairman Jerome Adonis claimed that police spilled feces and urine in Manila’s Liwasang Bonifacio, where protesters wanted to begin their march to Pasay.
“That’s a very unfair allegation,” Abrahano said. “That’s not what police do.”
At least nine protesters were arrested and 12 were injured during a rally in Liwasang Bonifacio, a freedom park.
Lawyer Carlos Montemayor of Public Interest Law Center said police may have violated Batas Pambansa 880 by violently dispersing the crowd and seizing their items.
No group has secured a permit to protest during the three-day ASEAN meet.
‘Respect world leaders’
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez said Filipinos can oppose visiting leaders’ policies without being discourteous.
Malacañang has urged protesters to engage in dialogue with officials instead of airing their grievances on the streets.
Demonstrators are rejecting the US-led Pax Silica initiative and US President Donald Trump’s visit tomorrow.
Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan has condemned the police’s reported plan to use long-range acoustic devices or sound cannons to disperse protesters.
The group also opposed the possible deployment of armed civilian agents among protesters and the use of signal jamming devices. — Andrew Ronquillo, Mark Ernest Villeza, Helen Flores