Militant groups told: No street protests on Independence Day

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MILITANT groups or individuals planning on holding Independence Day protests in Metro Manila on Friday (June 12) can be arrested by law enforcers if they will insist on holding street protests amid the continuing contamination threat of the novel coronavirus.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and Joint Task Force COVID Shield chief Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar reminded the public that the National Capital Region (NCR) is still under general community quarantine (GCQ), a lockdown level where mass gatherings are still not allowed.

Año, who is a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Mitigation of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said: “Hindi pa talaga pu-puwedeng gawin lahat ng normal na ginagawa (We cannot yet do all the things we normally do).”

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“Meron naman ibang paraan ng pag-express ng protesta at hindi kailangan makaabala ka sa ibang tao at labagin mo ‘yung mga pag-uutos sa quarantine protocols. So it’s a simple violation of the law (There are other ways to protest and it need not inconvenience other people or violate quarantine protocols. So it’s a simple violation of the law),” Año added of the planned protests.

Eleazar, also the PNP deputy chief for operations, said protesters will be cautioned and reminded about the IATF quarantine prohibition against mass gatherings and mandating strict stay-at-home protocols for unauthorized persons, which includes the elderly, persons below 21 years old and those who have medical co-morbidities.

“If they persist and there are violations committed, we will be forced to disperse them,” Eleazar warned.

Pressed if the protesters will be arrested, Eleazar said: “Ang arrest kasi will come kung after na in-exhaust mo na ‘yung sinasabi natin maximum tolerance and then mag-insist pa rin sila, disobedience na ‘yun at resistance (Arrest will come if they insist after we exhaust maximum tolerance. If they will still insist, that’s already disobedience and resistance).”

Eleazar appealed to protesting groups to instead hold their programs online.

“Iba ang situation natin kesa noon. Noon, wala tayong guidelines or prohibition on mass gathering. Pero meron tayon ngayon (We are in a different situation now. We have no guidelines or prohibitions on mass gathering before. But we have them now),” he said.

Some groups have declared they will go to the streets and hold protest actions in time with the country’s commemoration of its Independence Day on Friday. One of the hot issues expected to be raised during the protests is the impending enactment into law of the proposed Anti-Terror bill, which Congress has already transmitted to President Duterte.

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