People vs ‘pork’: We’re on same side – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - They came from all walks of life – ordinary people mingling with show biz stars, and wheelchair-bound elderly folk alongside athletic youths – gathering in Rizal Park and other places around the country yesterday to demand the abolition of the pork barrel.

The protests, initiated by netizens and with no apparent leader, were peaceful, said Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac.

“It’s a very respectable gathering. There are families here, like they are on a picnic. They are policing their own ranks. This is purely social network-propelled,” Sindac said.

Calls for the “Million People March” in Manila’s Rizal Park began circulating on Facebook and Twitter about two weeks ago amid reports of a multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.

Businessmen and socialites wearing branded white shirts, pearls and signature sunglasses mingled yesterday with ordinary citizens in faded white shirts, tattered jeans and worn-out flip-flops.

Nuns, priests, students, families, lawyers and other professionals, Muslim women wearing white veils and Muslim men in white worship caps and tribal groups also joined the protest.

Six hundred police personnel – 400 from Manila and 200 from the Southern Police District  – were deployed to secure the site.

The military also deployed more than 100 soldiers, ordnance experts, K9 teams and ambulances.  

Manila Police District (MPD) deputy director for administration Senior Superintendent Ronald Estilles estimated that around 65,000 people joined the rally.

“The biggest gathering occurred at around 11 a.m. when the crowd reached 65,000. People were seen as far as the statue of the carabao but the crowd was not compressed. There were spaces in between, in the middle, because they were avoiding stepping on the mud,” he said. 

Other police officials estimated the crowd at around 100,000.

Estilles said there was no untoward incident reported during the gathering that started at around 8:30 a.m. There was also hardly any garbage in the area when the protesters, who were urged to keep the park clean, left at around 3 p.m.

Senior Superintendent Joel Napoleon Coronel, MPD deputy director for operations, said the protesters were true to their word that the event would be peaceful. There was no reported incident of snatching or theft. A man who reported losing his cell phone recovered it at the command center.  

Rain fails to stop rallies

Moderate to heavy rains over Albay and the rest of Bicol failed to stop the rallies.

“We are not afraid to get sick by exposing ourselves to heavy rains. We are far more afraid of the ill effects of the pork barrel if it will continue to be released to the lawmakers,” Bayan Bicol secretary-general Fred Mansos said.

Over 3,00 people joined the march from the Fuente Osmeña Rotonda to the Plaza Independencia in Cebu City while more than 2,000 joined a caravan, which started at the Carmelite monastery in northern Bacolod.

Anti-pork barrel rallies were also simultaneously held in Cagayan Valley and the Ilocos Region.

Reports reaching Camp Crame showed thousands also converged in parks in Central Visayas and the Caraga region.

In Zamboanga City, hundreds joined a march dubbed “El Pueblo Unido Contra Robo” (The City is United Against Corruption) and converged at the historic Plaza Pershing.

Close to 5,000 people converged in Freedom Park in Davao City and proceeded to march to Rizal Park in front of city hall.

Anti-pork barrel rallies staged by militant groups were also held in Baguio City, Cavite, Laguna, Zambales and Quezon.

Palace shares public outrage

Malacañang said it acknowledges and shares the public outrage against the abuse of public funds.  

“Whether a million or only 60,000 (joined the rally), the message is clear: we are on the same side. We are against corruption,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said at a press briefing.

“I am just as outraged at the way that our people’s money have been abused and this is a golden opportunity for us to join – for the people to join and help us make sure that no longer will abuses be tolerated, no longer will the funds of the people be misused and abused,” he said.

Lacierda said the President is not misleading the public, noting that the chief executive sought the abolition of the pork barrel by scrapping the lump sum allocations for lawmakers. 

But he admitted that utilization of the P25.2-billion fund for congressional earmarks would have to be discussed with Congress, which has the power of the purse. 

Lacierda said the administration was not bothered by the rally as it only showed that the administration has more allies against irregularities in government. 

“This administration has elevated the level of anti-corruption, the expectation of the people, because… the President has improved… has rehabilitated the damaged institutions,” he said.    

Lacierda also assured the public that the budget of the Office of the President  is open to public scrutiny through various governmentwebsites, including that of the Department of Budget and Management.

‘Filipinos are dignified people’

In a statement read at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle called on the people to live up to the spirit of “Bayanihan” and prove to the world that the Filipinos are dignified people.  

“Let us prove that the Filipinos are decent. Filipinos are decent because they have fear of the Lord, respect for life, value for others, concern for country and care for the environment. Let self-dignity reign. The system and regulations should be the road toward heroism,” he said. 

“Let us hear the heartbeat of our nation. Listen to the voice of God,” he added.

OFWs protest

Thousands of Filipino workers abroad also launched simultaneous protest actions and other activities to express their support for the abolition of the pork barrel.

Garry Martinez, Migrante International chair, said their members from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Europe, Asia and North Africa expressed their opposition against all forms of pork barrel.

 â€œWhile OFWs and their families are hardly surviving by the day due to the global crisis combined with the onslaught of price hikes, they learn that their hard-earned money is being plundered for patronage politics and self-serving interests of a privileged few. It is a huge injustice,” Martinez said.           

He said yesterday’s event was just the start of bigger and wider global protests.

The BPO Industry Employees’ Network and environmentalists also added their voice to the clamor for the abolition of the pork barrel.

Environmental groups led by the EcoWaste Coalition gathered at the carabao statue fronting the Rizal Monument.

Members and supporters of the Alliance of the Health Workers (AHW) also joined the rally. They demanded the re-channeling of the pork barrel funds to hospitals. 

“The health workers strongly denounce that while the government is out to privatize government hospitals, we are losing the pork barrel funds to corruption,” said AHW president Jossel Ebesate.

‘Church will not keep quiet’

In Pangasinan, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who joined a small group of protesters at the Dagupan City Plaza, said the Church would not keep quiet in the face of anomalies or stealing.

“We have to make a stand and fight because we are answerable to God,” he said. “We should not stop making a stand for as long as corruption exists.” 

Villegas, incoming president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, earlier declared he is against the pork barrel and urged his flock not to ask favors from their congressmen, especially for so-called social obligations. 

He said the pronouncement of the President against the pork barrel was also not clear. He said there is a need for “absolute transparency” on the use of government funds. 

“So if the boss (people) say they don’t want that, the boss must be heard,” he added.

In his homily before the march to Rizal Park, Tuguegarao Archbishop Sergio Utleg said the pork barrel should not only be scrapped but people responsible for anomalies should also be prosecuted.

Leadership change

Retired Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz called for a leadership change amid allegations of corruption in government, claiming the situation is worse than during the Marcos regime. “But don’t ask me how and who,” he said.

Cruz said he did not believe the President’s statement that he would abolish the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the official name of the congressional pork barrel.           

  For his part, Fr. Robert Reyes challenged the President and other government officials to tender their  resignation if they think that they could no longer perform their role as leaders of the country.

“Pope Benedict XVI resigned because he said he is no longer capable… that’s why my question now is, P-Noy, are you still capable?”  Reyes said. 

Like Cruz, Reyes did not name a possible replacement for Aquino, who has been at odds with the Church over the reproductive health law. -With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez, Aurea Calica, Mayen Jaymalin, Jose Rodel Clapano, Sheila Crisostomo, Alexis Romero, Michelle Zoleta, Cet Dematera, Eva Visperas,Roel Pareño,Raymund Catindig, Ed Amoroso, Artemio Dumlao, Francis Elevado, Charlie Lagasca, Danny Dangcalan,  Teddy Molina, Edith Regalado, AP, Freeman News Service