Militant groups in Cebu gave President Rodrigo Duterte a grade of one out of ten as his second year in office closes today, June 30.
About 20 members of militant groups assembled in front of the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7) in Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City at around 9:30 a.m. on Friday and held a picket rally in protest to the “inability” of the government to deliver the needs of the people.
The protest was led by Panaghugpong Kadamay and was participated by Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston), Gabriela, Anakbayan, National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP), Kabataan Partylist, Migrante, Karapatan, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and Alsa Kontraktwal, among others.
Belinda Allere, secretary general of Panaghugpong Kadamay, said that “anti-poor” policies have been rampant in the administration of President Duterte.
“Hagbong gyud. Igo ra gyud na siya nga motungtong og one kay duna man po’y pipila ka mga dagkong tawo nga nakabenepisyo sa iyang mga binuhatan,” Allere said. [He should have a failing mark. I can give him at least one (out of 10) because a few prominent people did benefit from his programs.)
Allere said the latest crackdown on street loiterers or tambays is the the government’s way of ‘criminalizing’ poverty.
Allere said the government should have an in-depth study to understand why the tambays exist in communities.
“We stay in the streets because we are waiting for people who can lend us money to buy rice. We stay in the street because the members of our family cannot sit comfortably inside our small homes,” Allere said in Cebuano.
Protesters carried placards explaining why tambays exist, saying it was a result of lack of job opportunities in the country and because of the expensive tuition in private universities, among others.
Joisa Cesista, chairperson of Anakbayan Cebu, added that the government should look into providing the needs of the poor and not in running after them.
“Kung ganahan sila nga masugpo ang kriminalidad ug mawala ang tambay, tagaan nila og mga batakang serbisyo. bati kaayo ang logic sa atong mga naa sa gobyerno karon kay kung di nila mahatag ang serbisyo, dakpon o patyon na lang,” Cesista said. (If they want to stop criminality and stop loitering, they should provide basic services to the people. There is something wrong with the logic of those in government now that if they failed to give services, they will instead conduct arrests or even kill)