THE Quezon City government will require rallyists to secure permits from the police for any protest action that will be held physically when President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, July 27, 2020.
In a Laging Handa public briefing Tuesday, July 21, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said they will allow limited Sona protests in the city.
The President is expected to physically deliver his Sona at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City,
“Dito sa Quezon CIty, it’s been a tradition na may mga demonstrators talaga pag panahon ng Sona, so, while coordinating with the PNP, we have come to the agreement dito sa QCPD (Quezon City Police District) na pahihinutulutan ang demonstrations provided that may strict adherence sa BP (Batas Pambansa) 880. Ito po ‘yung batas which oversees assembly,” Belmonte said.
Under BP 880, or the The Public Assembly Act of 1985, protesters need to submit a permit which “shall include the place and time of the public assembly, rerouting of the parade or street march, the volume of loudspeakers or sound system and similar changes.”
Permits are not required if the public assembly is done in a freedom park duly established by law or ordinance or in private property, “in which case only the consent of the owner or the one entitled to its legal possession is required, or in the campus of a government-owned and operated educational institution which shall be subject to the rules and regulations of said educational institution.”
Belmonte said the police will peacefully disperse protesters who do not abide by the protocols set by the local government.
“Kailangan talagang mag apply sila ng mga permits sa local government at sa PNP (Philippine National Police),” Belmonte said.
She said they will be strict in implementing minimum health standards because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) epidemic.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said peaceful gatherings need no regulation from the government.
“We respectfully reiterate our view that peaceful gatherings, assemblies and protests should not be regulated by the government, to allow the exercise of peaceful assemblies without threats and other forms of intimidation, under international human rights instruments. These rights are not suspended or cancelled even during health emergencies like the Covid-19 pandemic,” Palabay told SunStar.
However, she assured that the groups organizing protests in relation to the President’s 5th Sona will coordinate with the QC government and secure their permits.
Labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) president Luke Espiritu for his part, said the city’s “permit before rally” scheme must be repealed.
“Assembly and freedom of speech are constitutional rights won by workers in their historical struggles for democracy...Never for once did we need any permit in the last SONA mobilizations. Joy Belmonte is resurrecting the dead,” Espiritu told SunStar. (SunStar Philippines)