Nov. 30 rally organizers buck calls for resignation of gov’t officials
There will be no calls for the resignation of public officials at the Trillion Peso March against corruption and political dynasties to be held on Nov. 30, Kidapawan Bishop Colin Bagaforo said at a press briefing on Monday.
“Our advocacy here at the Trillion Peso March Movement (TPMM) is not to overthrow our current elected officials. We are not calling for the resignations of our country’s leaders but what we are fighting for is to imprison, expose and return what the corrupt has stolen,” said Bagaforo, one of the convenors of TPMM, a coalition of religious and multisectoral groups.
Various anticorruption protests have been conducted nationwide, prompted by accusations that lawmakers, officials of government agencies, particularly the Department of Public Works and Highways, had conspired with private contractors to pocket billions of pesos in taxpayers’ money through “ghost” or substandard government infrastructure projects over the past years.
Some groups other than the TPMM have called for the resignation of President Marcos after he was implicated by one of the lawmakers linked to the anomalous projects, former Ako-Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co.
Talks of destabilization have also been a concern, most recently with Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson claiming he was offered by retired military officers to be part of a “civilian military junta” (See related story above).
Bagaforo, however, said that TPMM would not support toppling the government and replacing it with a military junta or revolutionary government, saying they would adhere to the constitution.
Maximum tolerance
Should anyone at the rally call for any public official to resign, Tindig Pilipinas convenor Francis Dee says the organizers would exercise “maximum tolerance” to respect the freedom of expression.
However, Dee warned that marshals during the event would intervene if they observe a group of people “insisting on that position,” adding that the organizers and Quezon City police have separate roles in terms of security during the event.
“We hope it won’t escalate to the point that we have to ask the help of the QC police, as much as possible. Because the deal is the marshals will keep order within the rally premises and the QC police will secure the perimeter,” he said.
The TPMM’s anticorruption rally will be held at the Edsa People Power Monument in Quezon City. Similar mass actions will also be conducted nationwide, with TPMM expecting more attendees compared with the first rally it held on Sept. 21 at the same venue.
During the first rally, the Philippine National Police recorded 80,000 attendees, but the TPMM estimated the crowd at 120,000.
