Liwasang Bonifacio, 2 Other Sites Designated Rally ‘Freedom Parks’

Protest actions will be allowed only at the Liwasang Bonifacio and two other “freedom parks” in Manila during the inauguration of president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday, June 30, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

PNP Directorate for Operations head Maj. Gen. Valeriano de Leon said on Monday, June 27, that aside from Liwasang Bonifacio (formerly Plaza Lawton), the two other freedom parks are Plaza Miranda on F.R. Hidalgo street in Quiapo and Plaza Dilao on Quirino Avenue in Paco.

De Leon said PNP’s designation of freedom parks is its way of recognizing the right of individuals and groups to assemble and express their thoughts and grievances.

“These are the areas where they could hold programs without a permit from the local government,” he said in a statement.

De Leon reminded leaders and members of cause-oriented groups that the right to assemble is not absolute and that the police would respond accordingly if protest actions impinge on the rights of others.

Demonstrators will not be allowed to go out of the freedom parks to march to the National Museum where Marcos will take his oath as the country’s next president.

With three venues, the police official said he hopes activists and their leaders would no longer insist on assembling near the National Museum.

“We hope that these groups and individuals will respect that, just like we respect their right to assemble, they must also respect our mandate to manage them and maintain peace and or-der during the inauguration of our incoming president,” he said.

At least 6,768 police officers will secure the National Museum during Marcos’ inauguration, which is expected to draw at least 25,000 to 30,000 spectators, excluding around 1,200 to 1,400 VIPs.

Police are expecting 50 to 60 buses to fetch the VIPs from the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said shutting down cell phone signal as part of security preparations for the activity remains an option to thwart possible security threats.

“That is being considered if we receive any credible threat relating to the inauguration of the incoming president,” Fajardo told reporters.

Those who wish to witness Marcos’ oath-taking in person are prohibited from carrying backpacks and colored water containers. Only transparent plastic bags and water bottles are al-lowed.

The PNP also urged people with existing medical conditions not to go to the National Museum for their safety and instead watch the activity on television or on LED screens to be set up at selected points.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary general Renato Reyes lambasted the PNP for asking cause-oriented groups to do their rallies online due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

“It is so hypocritical and stupid for the PNP to call on groups to hold online protests instead of physical protests on June 30, when the State has sought to block our very presence online,” Reyes said in a statement.

Reyes pointed out that the National Telecommunications Commission has blocked their websites for their alleged links to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Ar-my-National Democratic Front.

“This regime always finds ways to suppress people’s rights, whether online or offline,” he said.

Meanwhile, incoming presidential legal adviser Juan Ponce Enrile will not be attending the inauguration of Marcos, as he is confined in a hospital due to “mild COVID-19 pneumonia.”

In a statement posted on his Facebook account on Monday, the 98-year-old former lawmaker and defense minister said that it has been three days since he was admitted at the Makati Medical Center after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Enrile, however, said he is doing well except for experiencing “dry intermittent, sometimes intense, coughing.”

“I never had any discomfort. No chills. No fever. No headache. No malaise. My body temperature ranges from 36 [degrees] to 36.8 [degrees]. My body oxygen ranges from 96 to 99. All my physical vital signs and blood chemistry readings were normal,” Enrile said. – With Elizabeth Marcelo