A militant holds a placard above his head in a show of defiance in front of battle-ready police headed by Chief Insp. Jacinto Mandal Jr., Mabolo police precinct chief, during a rally near a hotel hosting the Asean senior ministers meeting.
CDN Photo/Lito Tecson
With police on standby, about 30 militants staged a rally near the venue of the Senior Economic Ministers meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) at the North Reclamation Area, Cebu City yesterday.
There was no confrontation between the police and the militants who carried placards and railed anew against the meeting, calling them “beneficial only to big business.”
“They don’t discuss the plight of the farmers and workers. The country remains unstable and many are still poor despite the investments and the loans,” John Ruiz, regional coordinator of the militant Bayan Muna group, said in Cebuano.
He said the investments didn’t result in adequate jobs for the Filipinos and the investors only came to the country due to the promise of low wages for workers.
Senior Supt. Joel Doria, Cebu City police chief, went to the rally site and said the group didn’t secure a rally permit.
“We tried to disperse them quickly but they asked us that they would just hold a program. They were given time. They were cooperative and it remained peaceful,” he said.
Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, Police Regional Office chief, said they maintain their policy of maximum tolerance when dealing with militants staging rallies.
Doria said the militants posed as costumers of a nearby mall before converging for the rally.
Taliño said police could not prevent some groups to hold rallies outside the area since it is a public place.
He said closing the areas surrounding the venue will affect the riding public.
“More rallies are being planned but we are ready for that. But I am advising some groups to refrain from holding rallies as they are only inconveniencing the public because of the traffic they create,” Taliño said.
At least 4,900 security personnel have been deployed to secure the meeting.
“We haven’t monitored any security threats. Each day, we are assessing if there is a need to deploy more security personnel,” Taliño said.
He said four caterers were hired to provide food packs for the police assigned to secure the venue and the surrounding areas.