FOLLOWING the collective call “Dabawenyos are not for sale” over the heated People’s Initiative (PI) for Charter change to amend the Philippine 1987 Constitution, thousands of Dabawenyos are set to stage a peace prayer rally on Sunday, January 28, 2024.
Close to 50,000 citizens from different areas in the city are expected to gather and voice out their negative sentiments during the “Unity for One Nation, One Prayer” rally at San Pedro Square in San Pedro Street, Davao City.
In a radio interview with Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Captain Hazel Tuazon earlier this week, she revealed that more than 300 uniformed personnel from their agency alone will be deployed to secure the area and implement restrictive measures.
The number excludes volunteers, security forces, and other force multipliers which will also be deployed to augment the police forces.
However, according to the official, there will be a soft deployment on Saturday morning, January 27 and the final deployment of the overall personnel will be on January 28 at exactly 1 a.m.
Tuazon added that one of the major areas that they will be safeguarding is the first rally to be held at the Grand Menseng Hotel on Magallanes Street.
This means that the rallyists are required to follow the usual norm of security measures to avoid facing violations and other legal penalties implemented by the police office.
“Pareho ra gihapon ang do’s and don’ts — kadtong mga dagko nga bag, back pack mga pointed object, sharp object specially firearms — kana bawal gyod na sa usa ka event area, kung magdala sila og tubig dapat makita unsay sulod (The do’s and don'ts are still the same. Those big bags, backpacks, pointed objects, sharp objects, especially firearms, are not allowed in an event area. If someone brings [water tumbler], it should be transparent),” Tuazon clarified.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview with the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Davao Region (DILG-Davao), the agency warned the barangay officials in the city from using the public and government-owned resources for their personal benefit as it diminishes their political integrity.
“Pwede silang muapil, however dili pwede nga gamiton ang resources sa government sa ilahang pag-apil kung duna may activity nga People’s Initiative. Meaning, dili pwede nga gamiton nila ang kagamitan sa gobyerno (They can participate, however they are prohibited to use the resources of the government for their involvement if there is a People's Initiative activity. Meaning, they can't use government resources),” DILG-Davao Regional Director Alex Roldan said.
To recall, First District Representative Paolo "Pulong" Z. Duterte denounced the political movement purportedly led by Representative Margarita "Atty. Migs" Nograles of the Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Partylist in Davao City.
The former president, Rodrigo Duterte, questioned the movement's purpose, calling it a plot that would erase the people's democratic will.
It was reported that several pro-Cha-cha organizations/ groups across the country are conducting grassroots activities by giving people P2,000 to P3,000 for their signatures for the Charter change. DEF
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