QC mayor orders review of denied Bayan rally permit for SONA 2022

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said Friday that she has ordered a revisit of the refused request of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) to hold a protest rally along Batasan Road during the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 25.

On Thursday, the Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) denied Bayan a permit to rally along the Batasan Road, saying that the area “is not a freedom park to hold protests.”

“...I have instructed the (QC-DPOS) to carefully review the counter-points that were presented, and to determine if there are any possible accommodations or middle ground that they can agree upon,” Belmonte said in a statement.

“The same will also be applied to all rally permits that are currently with the DPOS,” she added.

Belmonte, who is currently abroad to represent the city for a summit, said certain sectors asked her to intervene regarding the denial of Bayan's rally permit application.

“Rest assured, all these shall be discussed during our final SONA coordination meeting, which will happen today,” she said.

In a letter dated July 19, QC-DPOS head Elmo San Diego said that the QC Police District (QCPD) recommended the denial of the rally permit that Bayan had applied for.

Law enforcers said that the activity “will greatly affect the normal flow of traffic for motorists” who will pass through the Batasan Road or Commonwealth Avenue during the event.

Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said the denial violated the law and constitutional rights.

He said the QC-DPOS “did not exercise its own judgement and independent evaluation of the facts [and] did not exercise independence and autonomy as a local government unit” for copying the QCPD’s reasons for the permit denial.

Reyes said they appealed the matter to the Office of the Mayor. 

However, he said the protest rally will still push through, assuring authorities that it will be "peaceful."

“Mayroon po tayong nilahad doon na mga batayan kung bakit hindi naging naayon sa batas yung denial ng permit at iginigiit po natin doon na mayroon tayong karapatan na makapagtipon nang mapayapa at dala dala ang mga issue ng ating mga kababayan sa araw ng SONA,” he said in a press conference on Friday.

(We have presented the grounds as to why the denial of the permit was not in accordance with the law, and we insisted that we have the right to hold a protest rally peacefully in order to express the issues of our countrymen on SONA day.)

“Kanina nagkaroon ng pagpupulong, nagkaroon ng hearing sa pagitan ng Bayan at QC LGU. Umaasa kami sa araw na ito ay may mai-issue na permit para sa magaganap na kilos protesta sa Lunes,” he said.

(Earlier there was a meeting held between the group and QC LGU. We hope today that the permit will be issued for the protest that will take place on Monday.)

He said the group and QC local government are still discussing the final venue of the protest rally.

“Ito ay gagawin siguro somewhere sa kahabaan ng Commonwealth Avenue hanggang ngayon nag-uusap pa rin ang ating grupo at ang LGU kaugnay na final na pagdadarausan pero definitely po eh matutuloy ang pagkilos na ito at umaasa tayo maging paborado ang aksyon ng opisina ng mayor sa ating apela kaugnay ng denial sa rally permit,” Reyes said.

(This will probably be held somewhere along Commonwealth Avenue, and until now our group and the LGU are still talking about the final venue but definitely this protest will push through and we hope for a favorable action from the mayor's office on the appeal against the denial of the rally permit.)

“Ang mahalaga po dito ay marinig ang mamamayan, marinig ang ordinaryong tao at maging malinaw yung paggalang sa ating mga karapatan na magpahayag,” he added.

(What is important is the people will be heard, and their right to air their concerns will be respected.)

Meanwhile, Albert Pascual of Health Alliance for Democracy, one of the groups who expressed intention to join the protest rally, encouraged protesters to comply with the health protocols and maintain social distancing.

“Pinanawagan natin sasama sa rally ay dapat walang sintomas ng COVID-19 at papanatilihin po natin yung distansya para kung sakali man ay hindi magkahawahan, pinapanawagan natin dapat nakapagsuot ng facemask doble at may mga marshalls na magsee see to it na may social distancing habang nilulunsad po yung ating People’s SONA,” Pascual added.

(We call on those joining the rally to make sure they have no COVID-19 symptoms and social distancing must be maintained to avoid the spread of infection. We also urged them to wear double facemasks and there will be marshals to impose social distancing during the protest.)—LBG, GMA News