Police in Cebu approach members of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas sa Sugbo (KMP-Cebu) who were doing a cultural performance in Aloguinsan town, Cebu as part of the group’s pre-SONA protest on Monday, July 27, 2020. Provincial Police said they were there only to check if protesters were complying with health protocols. | Photos from BAYAN-Central Visayas’ video via Morexette Marie B. Erram, Alven Marie Timtim
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police in Cebu province on Monday, July 27 dispersed a group of farmers performing a cultural show as part of their pre-SONA (State of the Nation Address) protests.
At least 20 members from Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas sa Sugbo (KMP-Cebu) were told to go home by the police after staging a protest-rally in Aloguinsan town in southwestern Cebu. The Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) said the rallyists failed to show permits to the law enforcers.
KMP-Cebu’s protest was livestreamed through the official Facebook page of militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Central Visayas (BAYAN-Central Visayas).
Farmers expressed condemnation on President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration on the continued killing of farmers in the country, and lack of help from the government amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
At one point, uniformed police officers can be seen entering the frame while the protesters were doing their cultural performances.
Police Colonel Roderick Mariano, CPPO director, in a phone interview with reporters, said law enforcers were there to check if the participants had been complying with existing health protocols and if they had secured permits allowing them to conduct rallies.
Mariano also said he had directed policemen all over the province to implement maximum tolerance for any protests related to President Rodrigo Duterte’s 5th SONA.
READ MORE: Cebu police chief: No permits, no rally
Aloguinsan is a fourth-class municipality located approximately 57 kilometers southwest of Cebu City, the province’s capital.
In Mandaue City, militant groups also staged pre-SONA protests in front of ABS-CBN Central Visayas’ office in Barangay Jagobiao. /dbs
READ MORE: Online, street protests in Cebu mark hours before Pres. Duterte’s 5th SONA