FORMER senator Panfilo Lacson, who is eyeing a Senate return under the administration’s Alyansa Para a Bagong Pilipinas senatorial ticket, yesterday told supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte “not to resort to violence” as he said the police’s maximum tolerance policy has limits, and policemen are “duty-bound” to act if protests turn violent and threaten national security.
“We can express our sentiments … But let us avoid violence and committing criminal offenses,” Lacson, a former PNP chief, said in an interview.
“The maximum tolerance exercised by our security forces extends to the freedom of expression and assembly. But if there is violence in the course of expressing sentiments, there are limits to maximum tolerance and security forces will act to protect the state,” he added.
The PNP on Sunday said mass actions conducted by pro-Duterte groups Saturday and Sunday in Metro Manila and Davao City were peaceful.
Yesterday, the PNP said it has monitored 58 rallies on Saturday and Sunday in 10 regions in support of Duterte who was arrested on Tuesday last week for crimes against humanity and has been brought to the Netherlands to face the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The PNP said nearly 50,000 individuals attended the rallies in 10 regions — National Capital Region (Metro Manila), Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, and Soccsksargen.
Twenty-seven rallies were monitored on Saturday. These were attended by some 26,470 individuals, including 7,250 in Northern Mindanao.
Meanwhile, 31 rallies were monitored last Sunday, attended by some 23,440 individuals including 6,200 in Eastern Visayas.
“Nationwide, for the period of March 15 and 16, we monitored 58 rallies. More than 49,000 attended the 58 rallies nationwide,” Col. Randulf Tuaño, chief of the PNP public information office, said in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
Tuaño some of these rallies were held in Davao City, Duterte’s hometown.
“Overall, there were 2,650 (individuals who attended the rallies) in Davao alone,” said Tuaño.
The protesters demanded justice for Duterte and called for his return to the Philippines.
No major untoward incident was reported during the rallies as the protesters peacefully dispersed.
The PNP declared a nationwide heightened alert shortly after Duterte’s arrest on March 11. The police force is now back to normal alert status.
“Since the nationwide heightened alert status was already recalled, we’re no longer anticipating big rallies,” said Tuaño.
NO VIOLATION
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Davaoeños and other Duterte supporters are free to express support for the former president in any way they want as long as they do not violate any law.
“Those from Davao are also Filipinos. Of course, we are, including the Palace and the president, concerned about what is happening in Davao. Our only request is that they keep calm and find out the truth first,” she said in Filipino in a briefing in Malacañang.
She reiterated that everyone should first know the facts concerning Duterte’s arrest before they decide on their next actions, especially amid the spread of fake news, misinformation and disinformation in the past days.
“We cannot take their feelings away from them, that is normal because something happened to the person they idolize, and some are even fanatics. We will not stop them from expressing their feelings … Just don’t let it go too far and do something alarming, like seditious or inciting to sedition,” she said. – With Jocelyn Montemayor
