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By Ruben Manahan 4th, Reporter
Some 8,000, mainly young people,
filled up Liwasang Bonifacio in a three-part interfaith protest for
truth and justice on Friday.
Liwasang Bonifacio is one of the
“freedom parks” wherein the Manila city government allows
protests to be staged.
Members of youth, religious and
political activist organizations held the protest while some members
of the Manila Police Department were deployed in key points around
the city.
Police Community Relations Chief
Superintendent Remegio Sedarto told The Manila Times that of the
3,300 policemen deployed, 25 were with the protesters in the rally
site; 500 were in the Metropolitan Theater; and more than 1,000 were
in Mendiola, Manila City Hall and Mehan Garden.
“Police are not armed with
firearms, [not] even the SWAT [Special Weapons and Tactics],”
Sedarto said. “They only brought tear gas in case anything
happens.”
Streamers with the message
“katotohanan, katarungan, pagbabago” (truth, justice, change)
decorated the venue.
Radio reports said leaders of
religious groups, including the Philippine Aglipayan Church,
Philippines for Jesus Movement, as well as Muslim religious leaders,
were present at Liwasang Bonifacio.
The protest was started with a
prayer vigil led by Archbishop Oscar Cruz and Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez.
The group then proceeded to the second part of the rally that the
organizers dubbed as “Youth Festival of Protests.”
Political figures were also
present, including Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim; Gina de Venecia, wife
of Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr.; Genuine Opposition spokesman
Adel Tamano; Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo; and Mary Grace
Poe, daughter of the late Fernando Poe Jr. who ran against Mrs.
Gloria Arroyo for the presidency in 2004.
Tamano said he was pleased with
the gathering. “This rally is for confidence-building. You can see
that there are no big-name politicians here. Now we can say that
even the students want a clean and honest government and has a voice
in our country.”
Groups such as Bayan, Bayan Muna,
Kadamay and Youth Act Now demanded for President Arroyo’s
resignation.
Meanwhile, pro-Arroyo supporters
led by the Kongreso ng Mamamayan continued to stage a peace camp at
Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City. The group increased by a busload of
young people from Muntinlupa City who arrived Friday afternoon.
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