TAKE TWO
Militant groups to hold big protest during SONA

By Erly C. Garcia

Various cause-oriented groups will hold a big protest action this Monday July 25 when Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo delivers her State of the Nation Address (Sona) before the members of Congress.

Irma Espina of Courage-Panay said the protest action will be lead by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Panay and its allied organizations and the newly formed Arroyo Resign Movement (ARM).

The protest action will kick off with a march rally at 1:00 p.m. where contingents coming from two assembly points will converge at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol grounds for a cultural program.

One assembly point will be in West Avenue Molo (in front of the Iloilo Doctors Hospital). Contingents from the said assembly point will march towards Infante, Tanza, Rizal Street, Ma. Clara, Iznart, Ledesma, Valeria Street going to the Capitol grounds.

The other contingents will come from the Jaro plaza near the belfry area.

Bayan-Panay secretary-general Aurelio Bosque said about 5,000 protesters are expected to attend the protest action.

Bosque said, during the program Bayan and its allied organizations will present the true state of the nation.

He said, as in her previous Sonas Arroyo will only present a good picture of her administration which is not reflective of the real situation.

Bosque added, different resource persons will say their piece on the current state of political affairs in the country and call for the resignation of the president.

The group is seeing the July 25 Sona as Arroyo's last.

The people are already tired with the soaring prices of basic commodities, the skyrocketing tuition fees, the continued adamancy of the Arroyo administration to increase the salaries and wages of  government employees and private workers, the human rights violations, the blatant corruption in the higher echelons of the Arroyo administration, and the most controversial Gloriagate scandal, says Bayan-Panay in a statement.

They said with these people's sufferings Arroyo does not deserve to stay a minute longer in Malacañang.

Bosque however assured a peaceful protest action.

Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) Director Senior Supt. Norlito Bautista earlier vowed to deploy enough police personnel during Monday's protest action.

He also said that he already instructed his men to treat protesters with maximum tolerance.

To note, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas warned protesters to secure permit to rally before they could be allowed to hold their protest actions.

Meanwhile, transport groups under the Iloilo City Alliance of Drivers Association (Icada) have withdrawn their earlier plan to hold a two-day strike to coincide with the President's Sona.

The News Today learned that the said group would still conduct intensive consultations with other transport groups before moving on with their planned strike in order to make it more effective.