Bayan says anti-Duterte SONA rally is peaceful, blames QCPD for delay

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Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said on Monday that the anti-administration protest action of progressive groups ended peacefully on the day of President Rodrigo Duterte’s last State of the Nation Address (SONA).

In a statement, Bayan General Secretary Renato Reyes Jr. blamed the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) for the delay in the activity.

“Despite threats of rain and incidents of vehicle blockages, today’s protest to mark Rodrigo Duterte’s last SONA ended peacefully around 1:30 pm,” Reyes said.

“The delay was due to the establishment of orange barriers by the QCPD along the Commonwealth and a police blockade which violated the previous agreement with the mayor of QC,” he added.

Reyes said the QCPD acted in bad faith and wanted to control the march.

GMA News Online has sought the side of the QCPD but has yet to receive its statement on this matter.

According to Reyes, the protesters refused to follow the narrow lanes created by the police and said they were sticking to the deal.

“It was only then that the PNP lifted the roadblocks and let the demonstrators pass,” he said.

About 6,000-7,000 protesters from different groups took part in the activity along Commonwealth Avenue, which Reyes said was the region’s first major march since 2020.

They first converged on the University of the Philippines-Diliman campus.

The “Duter-tuko” fresco, which represents Duterte holding power, with about fifty “Wakasan Na! Covers of comiks also paraded in the avenue.

“After today, we are more determined than ever to see the end of Duterte’s regime and thwart his evil plan to establish a dynasty in Malacanang. Wakasanna! Reyes said.

Duterte will deliver its sixth and final SONA on Monday afternoon, with the country still battling the COVID-19 pandemic, now exacerbated by the more infectious Delta variant. —KG, GMA News

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