QC mayor OKs permit for EDSA rally

MANILA, Philippines - The “EDSA Tayo” prayer rally calling for the abolition of the pork barrel system will push through at the EDSA Shrine today, but authorities will implement restrictions to prevent traffic jams.

Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista yesterday granted the rally organizers’ application for permit to assemble at the shrine from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to conduct the vigil.

In a text message, Baustista said that the “Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety (QC-DPOS), Quezon City Police District and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have instituted security and traffic plans for the orderly conduct of the activity.”

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said it would deploy 2,931 police forces to the vicinity of the EDSA Shrine.

Police forces would also be deployed to other traditional rally sites like the US embassy, Don Chino Roces (Mendiola) Bridge, and other vital government and private installations.

QC-DPOS chief Elmo San Diego said the participants of the vigil should confine themselves to the EDSA Shrine and the area under the flyover along EDSA.

“They cannot occupy the flyover. That’s off-limits,” San Diego said.

San Diego also said that authorities are preparing for three possible scenarios: level 1 would see the participants confined at the shrine; level 2 would see participants spilling over to the sidewalk and the portion of EDSA facing the shrine; and level 3 would see participants occupying the flyover.

“The police should not allow those attending the vigil to occupy the flyover. That’s non-negotiable,” he stressed.

“But if we’re looking at the projected crowd of 3,000 to 5,000, which is the estimate of the organizers, I think that could be accommodated by the shrine,” he added.

In case the crowd at the shrine swells, traffic re-routing schemes would be implemented.

“The vehicles that are southbound would have to take the areas of N. Domingo and Greenhills, while those northbound would have to take the C5 route,” San Diego said.

The MMDA would also be fielding 37 trucks to ferry people who might get stranded by the rally.

But the agency said the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program, or number coding, would remain in effect during the rally.               

“We will not suspend it so as not to worsen the traffic congestion that is expected to be the result of the rally,” MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said.

The Department of Health, meanwhile, sprayed the EDSA Shrine yesterday to protect the participants from dengue.

Weapons, backpacks banned

Eastern Police District director Chief Superintendent Miguel Laurel said the participants are banned from carrying firearms, deadly weapons and alcoholic drinks.

Backpacks are also banned to avoid smuggling of dangerous weapons and explosives to prevent a repeat of the Boston marathon bombing, according to NCRPO Director Marcelo Garbo.

Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, Philippine National Police Public Information Office chief, said policemen would be frisking participants with backpacks.

“Since it is only a prayer vigil, we appeal to the participants not to bring anything except for rosaries and other personal belongings,” Laurel said.

MMDA chief’s appeal

The MMDA chief also appealed to the organizers to maintain order within their ranks.

“We recognize their right to express fully their sentiments. But I am appealing to their social and civic responsibility in maintaining order and discipline among their ranks, considering it is a working day, and most of the schools nearby will have their exams,” Tolentino said.

He said the rally organizers and participants must observe the restrictions, follow traffic regulations, respect the police, maintain cleanliness in the area, finish the event within the time permitted by the Quezon City and Mandaluyong City governments, and not pose inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians who will not join the rally.

“The protesters should also ensure that the roads will remain passable for ambulances going to Cardinal Santos Hospital, Medical City, and other Quezon City hospitals,” he added. – With Mike Frialde, Non Alquitran, Cecile Suerte Felipe, Helen Flores, Sheila Crisostomo