people: iglesia ni kristo-led rally cheers up tearful
corona
[Photo - CORONA
BALCONY: Impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona (center) waves to supporters (at
right) who gathered on Thursday outside the Supreme Court building in Manila to
call for a stop to the impeachment trial. At left, protesters call for the
opening of Corona's bank foreign currency account records during Thursday's
rally near the old Film Center at the CCP complex in Pasay City.]
MANILA, FEBRUARY 11, 2012
(INQUIRER) By Jaymee T. Gamil - Seven thousand people and
not one organizer behind them.
This was what the rowdy crowd that gathered outside the Supreme Court
building on Thursday would have the public believe, with picketers saying they
were simply "concerned citizens" who happened to come across one another at the
same place and time.
As early as 11 a.m. Thursday, droves of people, many of them members of the
politically influential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), started convening outside the
Supreme Court compound on Padre Faura Street in Manila.
They carried placards bearing such messages as "No to Impeachment," "Uphold
Judicial Independence," "Uphold bank secrecy law" and "Stop Malacañang takeover
of the judiciary."
At least 20 placards were obviously from the same source, with red words
printed on white tarpaulin sheets. But when asked, the picketers said they were
"volunteers" or "individuals" showing support for Chief Justice Renato Corona.
At around 2 p.m. a tearful Corona appeared with his wife Cristina at the
tribunal's balcony and waved to the crowd.
"Walang iiyak! Walang iiyak (No tears)!" the crowd chanted.
No rally permit
Police estimated the crowd at 7,000 by 2:30 p.m.
The area in front of the Supreme Court building is a hot spot for activists
lobbying for their causes, but Thursday's crowd was not from the usual leftist
groups, according to Superintendent Ricardo Layug, commander of Manila Police
District Station 5 and ground commander of the 100 policemen deployed to guard
the rally.
"They're apparently from different places. They won't say what group they're
from, and they have no leaders on site. They said they just met here," Layug
said in Filipino.
He said the people in the crowd did not have a rally permit but authorities
nevertheless allowed them to hold their mass action.
"This area is usually for mass actions like this, so we allowed them to
proceed," he said.
Officials said there was a police intelligence report claiming that a number
of those present were INC members.
At the interreligious prayer service held in the court foreground, many in
the crowd were particularly observant and loudly cheered after an INC laywoman
said her prayers.
The stretch of Padre Faura Street in front of the high court compound was
closed to vehicular traffic. The crowd was densest outside the high court gates,
roaring gamely whenever a photographer took pictures.
'Attendance sheet'
A man wearing a makeshift shirt made of cartolina walked around, soliciting
signatures for his "No to impeachment" campaign.
The picketers joked they were signing an "attendance sheet" as they humored
Fernando Flor, 41, a salesman from Navotas City.
Flor said he was at the rally and embarking on the signature campaign as his
way of helping Corona.
"This is the people's way to get attention. I hope the government realizes we
are tired of the impeachment trial. They should be attending to more important
issues such as employment or housing," he said in Filipino.
Alexander Fajardo, 32, a call center agent from Quezon City, expressed the
same sentiment, adding that the picketers were simply "upholding democracy."
Fajardo, accompanied by a friend, worked the crowd with a megaphone, calling
for "unity."
He said he had just finished his work shift and had headed straight to the
Supreme Court on his own volition.
"This group, if there is a group behind this, has good intentions for the
country," he said.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
