By Cong B. Corrales
Editor-in-Chief
and Froilan Gallardo
Special Correspondent
CLERGY members and people’s lawyers in Cagayan de Oro are set to hold two protest rallies this week, calling for accountability and an end to corruption within the government.
The rallies, scheduled for today and Sunday, will be held in conjunction with a nationwide anti-corruption movement.
The first event, dubbed the “Black Friday Protest,” is organized by the Promotion of Church People’s Response-Northern Mindanao Region (PCPR-NMR) and will take place today, September 19.
Rev. Jefferson G. Palasan, PCPR-NMR general secretary, called on all faith-based and multisectoral organizations to join the clergy.
“In one voice let us unite as a people of God and let our voices echo in the streets,” he said.
The Friday protest will begin with an assembly at Magsaysay Park at 4 pm, followed by a march to Press Freedom Park, where a program and candlelight activity will be held.
Palasan noted that the dress code for the event is black clerical attire for clergy and any black clothing for non-clergy.
In a separate statement, the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao-Northern Mindanao Region (UPLM-NMR) announced it will join both rallies.
UPLM Secretary General Beverly Selim-Musni said the lawyers are “summoned by the people to send the corrupt to jail and recover the plundered resources.”
Both PCPR-NMR and UPLM-NMR are demanding accountability from the Marcos-Duterte administration.
“We want those involved in the rampant corruption to be held accountable, jailed, and to return the trillions in public funds they scammed,” Selim-Musni said.
Martial Law anniversary sparks divided protests
Meanwhile, the city will also see separate rallies on Sunday, September 21, to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law by the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Fr. Der John Faborada, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, said a multisectoral rally led by various interfaith groups will begin Sunday morning at Gaston Park.
This march will proceed to De Lara Park at the Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol, where participants will demand that corrupt politicians sign bank secrecy waivers.
Faborada said the morning schedule was chosen to avoid a separate, afternoon protest organized by pro-Duterte supporters.
Councilor Joylen Mercedes Balaba, a leader of the pro-Duterte loyalists, confirmed the separate events.
“We are two groups with opposing agendas [sic],” Balaba said.
While both groups are united against corruption, she added, the pro-Duterte faction’s battle cry is “Bring him (Duterte) home.”
Balaba said their protest would start with a motorcade and end at the Amphitheater in downtown Divisoria.
Selim-Musni of the UPLM-NMR said her group would restrict calls of “bring him home” in both the Black Friday and Sunday protests.
