THE pro-Duterte rally of the Kilusang Pagbabago (KP) dubbed as “Lihok Suporta 2” at the Plaza Independencia will push through today. That’s rain or shine.
The KP Visayas (of course, I have special access because the lead convenor is the missus) has been issuing this call for BYOP or bring your own provision. The Facebook call meant bring your own “pagkaon, plite, ug payong.”
Let’s see if they could gather 15,000 people as announced amid the controversies and reports of waning support facing the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte today.
On Oct. 1 last year, the crowd overflowed at the 10,000 capacity Cebu Coliseum. Doris, during a press conference last Monday, said they want to top this after a year of KP organizing and feeling the pulse at the grassroots.
Talking about KP organizing, let’s just say training of KP trainors by Fr. Ed dela Torre should give us an idea of how they are trying to empower the grassroots away from the traditional politics. After all, KP and the Office for Participatory Governance (OPG) are under the guidance of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio ‘Jun’ Evasco, a former rebel priest during the Marcos dictatorship like dela Torre.
For Kilusang Pagbabago, the political capital that Digong gained with his call for change through participatory governance has not waned. However, they stress government-public cooperation in pursuing grassroots anti-poverty projects. Sec. Liza Maza of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) keynoted the KP Cebu provincial assembly last Sunday.
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Unlike other pro-Duterte groups, KP is misunderstood much by both Duterte allies and foes. During a recent gathering of former anti-Marcos activists, for instance, there was this heated debate about the supposed waning support for the president and whether KP can muster a huge turnout.
An anti-Duterte pundit of a national broadsheet wrote about the administration’s failure to set up its mass organization under Evasco and thus the reliance on PDP-Laban for its federalism project. The pro-Marcos Kit Tatad meanwhile considered KP as a Leftist project.
Last month, I found myself sitting beside Rep. Samsam Gullas during the inauguration of the new Naga boardwalk on the eve of the Charter Day celebration in Naga City. Curiously, the congressman was quite interested about KP, its difference with other pro-Duterte groups, and the Office for Participatory Governance (OPG) under CabSec Evasco. He became curious after he saw a KP chapter meeting abroad.
Yes, I told him that KP has an international network. KP is not just a national group organized by the circa 2016 Duterte Campaign Team (DCT) headed by then national campaign manager Jun Evasco.
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What is the KP stand on current issues? EJK, for instance. I could only share the position the Cebu group articulated in a press release last month. While KP-Cebu expressed full support for the war on drugs, it blames police scalawags for derailing the administration’s effort. Makahilak na sab si Bato, ini.