TAUMBAYAN LABAN SA KATIWALIAN: EDSA @ 40šļø
Over 12,000 Filipinos defied the āNo permit, no rallyā rule set by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) as they took part in the large-scale protest spearheaded by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Kilusang Bayan Kontra Kurakot (KBKK) in remembrance of the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power.
Rallyists broke through the barricades of police forces in assertion of their rights to protest and marched towards the EDSA Shrine which was declared by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in a previous statement to be a āno rally zone.ā NCRPO deployed over 14,000 cops around the vicinity in order to ensure āpublic safetyā during the protest.
In a statement released by Bayan, they stated that the authorities attempted to normalize the presence of police during the protest and reduce it into mere negotiations concerning the particularities of traffic and permit requirements. The group recounted that the police intended to tow away the truck and sound system that will be used for the program which they condemned to be in line with the authorities tactics of fear-mongering and fascist rhetoric.
The protest in the EDSA Shrine was able to unite a broad coalition of organizations and advocates that are opposed to corruption with many of their representatives sharing their groupās position on the current state of politics in the Philippines and the sordid effects of corruption on the sectors they served.
The altercation between rallyists and police forces resulted in the unjust arrests of activists Edel Parducho and Three OdeƱa. Kabataan Partylist Rep. Renee Co stated that Parducho was attempting to protect the elderly from police aggression while OdeƱa was simply trying to take pictures before both were harassed and arrested.
āPinapatunayan nito na hanggang ngayon, buhay ang legasiya ng diktadura - Marcos noon, Marcos ngayon. Kaya mas lalong makatwiran na buhayin ang diwa ng EDSA sa araw-araw hanggang makamit ang tunay na demokrasya,ā continued Rep. Co.
The Climate Change Network for Community-based Initiatives vehemently condemns the state repression of the PNP and the excessive force it presented upon the peaceful protesters who merely want to live out the spirit of EDSA Revolution. We call for the immediate release of the activists who remain unjustly incarcerated under state custody.
Ironically, in remembrance of a period in our history that embodied a culture of fear and immense state repression, the remnants of a dictatorship is still slipping through the cracks in the form of violent dispersals, unjust arrests, and police harassment. The historical abuse of the stateās monopoly of violence has aroused a culture of resistance from civil society.
Never Again, Never Forget!
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