By Jennifer P. Rendon
They were warned.
A day before the International Labor Day celebration on May 1, the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) cautioned the public that protest rallies will not be allowed since it is considered a form of mass gathering which is prohibited by enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
But 42 persons were nabbed for allegedly staging a mass protest in celebration of Labor Day at around 11:15 a.m. Friday in front of the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral on Rizal St., Jaro, Iloilo City.
Police Captain Shella Mae Sangrines, ICPO spokesperson, said that some of the protesters hailed from Iloilo province, which, just like Iloilo City, is also under ECQ.
Others have refused to divulge their addresses and pertinent personal data.
The group were protesting the killing of Bayan Muna-Iloilo City coordinator Jory Porquia, the government’s emergency subsidy program, and the budget of the health department.
In its Facebook post yesterday, ICPO reminded the public of Executive Order Nos. 038 and 048, Series of 2020 which suspended all major public gatherings in Iloilo City due to COVID-19 until further notice.
Apart from mass gathering, the order also suspended social events such as barangay fiesta; public and/or private school activities; rallies; and other similar activities and gatherings.
In a meeting with other stakeholders, the Jaro Police Station said that the implementation of ECQ will be properly observed while respecting human rights through maximum tolerance.
Sangrines said the group were arrested for violating Batas Pambansa Bilang 880 (The Public Assembly Act of 1985) and disobedience to agent of a person in authority in relation to EO 48 and EO 55-A.
Sangrines said they could also be liable for violating Republic Act 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act) and RA 11469 (The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act).
CONDEMNATION
In a statement, Bayan Panay condemned the ICPO’s alleged blatant disregard of the people’s right to assemble and petition the government to redress their grievances.
“These are our inalienable rights enshrined in the 1987 Constitution and Bill of Rights,” Bayan Panay Secretary General Elmer Forro said.
They claimed that Bayan-Panay and its allied organisations decided to hold an indignation protest caravan to condemn the murder of Jory Porquia, who was killed on April 30.
“After three rounds of negotiations with the police to allow us to lay a wreath and light candles where Porquia was killed, the PNP denied this petition. We decided to disperse,” Forro said.
But the police allegedly blocked and arrested their members.
“We condemn in strongest possible terms the high-handed manner by which the PNP tramples the sovereign people’s rights to assembly, our right to protest, and our right to seek redress of grievances,” Forro said.
He stressed that the 1987 Philippine Constitution ensures those rights.
