Left encounters no cop, soldier in trek to Sona

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jul 24): Left encounters no cop, soldier in trek to Sona


A MEMBER of a leftist contingent from Southern Tagalog holds a torch as he and other members of militant groups arrive at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños to meet up before proceeding to Quezon City for tomorrow’s State of the Nation Address. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
UP TO 5,000 members of leftist groups now on their way to Quezon City to hold a rally near the Legislative Building during the State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Duterte Monday have been given a clear path to their destination.

Pastor Dan Balucio, secretary general of the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) in Bicol, said in an interview during the groups’ stopover in Naga City that 191 buses carried delegates from different leftist groups from areas in Mindanao and Bicol region and were not blocked by soldiers or policemen on the road.

Leftist groups headed for past Sona under the Arroyo and Aquino administrations had been blocked from proceeding to the Batasang Pambansa, which the House of Representatives occupies, by security forces.

Marches and rallies by leftist groups during Sona have been marked by antigovernment slogans and placards and streamers that condemn government shortcomings.

This time, however, leftist groups have taken on a different appearance.

The rallies that leftist groups from Mindanao plan for Monday’s Sona would be in support of Mr. Duterte, who had described himself as a socialist though not “dyed in the wool.”

On June 19, Mindanao-based leftist groups started a five-day travel to Quezon City hoping to present a 15-point “Mindanao People’s Agenda” to Mr. Duterte tomorrow.

Bai Ali Indayla, of Gabriela and secretary general of the Moro human rights group Kagawib, said the leftists who would rally during the Sona are in support of Mr. Duterte’s propeople and progressive policies.

The march, dubbed Manilakbayan, is being led by Gabriela and other leftist groups, like Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Bayan, and human rights advocates in Mindanao.

Indayla said up to 5,000 people are taking part in Manilakbayan.

Members of leftist groups from the Davao regions, Central Mindanao and north and western Mindanao assembled at the Surigao barge terminal in Liloan, Surigao del Norte and travelled together to Quezon City by land.

Indayla said the groups would present to Mr. Duterte several pressing issues that people from Mindanao confront, including the heavy presence of government soldiers in indigenous people’s (IP) communities.

Other issues that the leftist Mindanao groups are to present to Mr. Duterte are genuine agrarian reform, national industrialization and promotion of workers’ rights.

Carlo Olalo, of KMU, said the groups are also demanding an end to contractualization and a P750 minimum wage.

The Mindanao groups stopped over Naga City on Friday.

In an interview in Naga City, Indayla said the groups are also supporting peace talks with communist rebels which Mr. Duterte has given priority to.

The talks, said Indayla, is the “venue to address the roots of armed conflict.”

In Southern Mindanao alone, Indayla said the heavy presence of government soldiers has led to the killings of 67 lumad under the Aquino administration.

The lumad, said Indayla, had fallen victims to the Aquino administration’s “Oplan Bayanihan”, a counterinsurgency campaign. Members of IP communities, she said, are being tagged as communist rebels or sympathizers.

She said leftist groups are also wary of US intervention in the talks, which has been indicated by the US State Department’s listing of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, New People’s Army, as terror groups. 

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