ILOILO City – The anti-administration protests staged across Western Visayas were “generally peaceful” as President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, according to the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6.
“Task Force SONA 2020 ensured that no unscrupulous individuals or groups will create chaos,” the PRO-6 said in a statement.
Minimal assemblies, caravans and rallies were monitored in some areas of Kalibo, Aklan; Roxas City, Capiz; Kabankalan, Negros Occidental; Bacolod City; and Iloilo City but were peacefully dispersed without any confrontation, it added.
No arrests were made as protest organizers agreed to enforce physical distancing, the wearing of face masks and other health protocols.
In Iloilo City, around 200 activists, religious groups, artists, students, workers, urban poor, and various other sectors joined the protest action dubbed “SONAgkaisaPanay.”
Waving flags and holding up placards, the protesters lashed out at the new anti-terror law that Duterte signed early this month.
Among the protesters was Professor Early Sol Gadong of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV). He slammed anti-terrorism law’s supposed “draconian” provisions.
“Kami nga mga manunudlo kag mga estudyante sang UPV kag sa iban nga mga bulothoan diri sa Iloilo gin-red tag kag ginpakasal-an nga mga recruiter sang rebel groups, ginpakasal-an nga mga terrorista,” said Gadong.
More than a dozen petitions were filed before the Supreme Court for the law to be declared unconstitutional, mainly on fears it could be used to muzzle legitimate dissent and human rights defenders.
“Kami nga mga manunudlo kag estudyante sa UPV makusog nga ginapamatokan ining nagapamigos nga anti-terror sa subong nga gobyerno,” he added.
The protesters also condemned the shutdown of the broadcast giant ABS-CBN Corp., after a committee in the House of Representatives voted to reject a new 25-year franchise for the broadcaster.
“Ang pagpasira sang ABS-CBN paagi sa indi pag-renew sang prangkisa, isa sa pinakadaku nga broadcast company sa pungsod ang pinakapamintas nga atake sa media kag hilway nga pagwaragwag,” John Allen Alenciaga of AlterMidya said.
Duterte had repeatedly threatened to shutter the network, partly for what he said was the company’s failure to broadcast his campaign ads in 2016 and its support of a rival candidate. ABS-CBN has denied any wrongdoing.
PRO-6 discouraged mass gatherings due to the threat of COVID-19 transmission. They have suggested that protesters, instead of holding mass actions on the streets, better use social media to advance their advocacies to avoid catching SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19./PN
