EDSA Tayo: Anti-'pork' vigil to be held in Iloilo

Filipinos in the Visayas are expected to join a vigil against the pork barrel system in Iloilo this coming Wednesday, organizers of an upcoming vigil at the EDSA Shrine said Saturday.

In a post on its Twitter account, "EDSA Tayo" said the ecumenical prayer vigil will be held at the Jaro Cathedral in Iloilo at 5:30 p.m.

"EDSA TAYO spreads to Western Visayas. Ecumenical prayer vigil in Jaro Cathedral Iloilo on Sept. 11, 5:30 p.m.," it said.

On Friday, EDSA Tayo had said an interfaith vigil was also scheduled in Pagadian City in Mindanao on Sept. 11.

The group is to hold a prayer vigil on Sept. 11 at EDSA Shrine, but limited its hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. as a "traffic management measure."

Meanwhile, Metro Manila police on Saturday assured sufficient security for participants at the EDSA Shrine prayer vigil.

Philippine National Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac said measures have also been taken for traffic management, radio dzBB reported.

Sindac said the Quezon City police will take the lead in ensuring peace and order, with reinforcements by police from other cities.

He said the PNP has also coordinated with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority for traffic management, including rerouting schemes.

The September 11 activity is a follow-up to the Aug. 26 gathering against the pork barrel fund at the Luneta in Manila.

It comes two days before another anti-"pork" activity to be led by militant groups at the Luneta on Sept. 13.

Filipinos had expressed outrage over the corruption embodied by the pork barrel funds, following a scandal over a P10-billion pork scam involving trader Janet Napoles.

Napoles, who is detained in Laguna on charges of serious illegal detention, was accused of setting up fake non-government organizations to siphon funds from some lawmakers' Priority Development Assistance Fund allocations. — LBG, GMA News