BACOLOD City – The city government will enforce the no permit, no rally policy following the tension that occurred during a rally without permit held by transport groups along Lacson Street here on Wednesday, September 18.
City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. said he had a meeting with the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) and they both agreed that those who want to hold rallies in the city should get a permit from the city government.
For his part, Colonel Joeresty Cororonica, director of the BCPO, said they earlier warned the group against holding a rally without a permit, which they also did a few weeks back at the Bacolod City Government Center.
The Negros United Transport Coalition (NUTC) is a coalition of the Bacolod Alliance for Commuters, Operators and Drivers Inc. (BACOD), Kabakod Negros Transport Coalition Incorporated (Kabakod-Knetco) and United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (UNDOC).
The group protested they were not invited to the Visayas Public Transportation Modernization Program Summit organized by a private group at the L’ Fisher Hotel from September 18 to 19.
Ting said the rallyists were given the chance to attend the summit on Wednesday but a tension suddenly arose at around 8 a.m.
Lieutenant Colonel Joery Puerto, chief of the BCPO City Investigation and Detection Management Unit, identified Kabakod-Knetco member Melchor Umangayon as the one who cast the stone that injured two police officers.
Puerto said they exercised maximum tolerance but when the rallyists refused to disperse, they forced them to leave and arrested the organizers.
The BCPO deployed civil disturbance battalion personnel and sought assistance from the Bureau of Fire Protection-Bacolod City, which used a water cannon to disperse the rallyists.
Meanwhile, the BCPO filed complaint for disobedience to an agent of a person in authority against BACOD-Manibela president Rudy Catedral and member Shalimar Saleut, Kabakod-Knetco president Lilian Sembrano, UNDOC-Piston chairperson Rodolfo Gardose, and secretary-general Eric Bindoy, and for direct assault upon an agent of a person in authority against Umangayon.
All five posted bail of P3,000 each while Umangayon has not yet posted a bail set at P36,000. He was detained at the police station as of this writing. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency)/PN
