EDITORIAL – Public nuisance

The Philippine Star 10/16/2005

On a busy Friday, payday, traffic was again at a standstill in many parts of the city of Manila. Why? Because there was another anti-government rally in Mendiola. The usual people who surely hold no steady jobs and don’t go to school since they can afford to stage rallies daily were augmented by a small bunch of individuals suffering from acute lack of public attention.

As usual there was the priest whose vocation is to run away from his priestly duties. He was supported by a handful of bishops who invoked free will in going against their own Church’s stand on prelates attending protest rallies. If the princes of the Church cannot obey their own rules, they should not expect obedience either from their flock. It can’t just be coincidence that with Philippine spiritual advisers busying themselves with matters other than spiritual, Asia’s bastion of the Roman Catholic faith is also one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

There was a defeated vice presidential candidate and a former vice president, both out of jobs and with too much time on their hands. There was even an incumbent senator, who must miss the TV cameras with Congress in recess. Her antics are additional reminders of how taxpayers can save billions by abolishing the Senate. If those red flag-waving protesters marching with her ever succeed in taking over the government, her family will be among the first to lose a massive fortune and New People’s Army commander Gregorio Rosal will be the biggest landlord in Alabang.

Did the government prevent the holding of yet another protest rally? The protesters were told to confine themselves to Plaza Miranda so they would not make life miserable for the majority who need to use that vital intersection in Mendiola, in Manila’s busy University Belt, to go about their business. The city government of Manila has designated Plaza Miranda and Liwasang Bonifacio – both crowded areas if protesters want to attract sympathizers – as freedom parks. All rallies in these two areas are duly covered by the mass media.

The protesters last Friday, however, were not just after expressing a message in their usual inarticulate, infantile way that leaves no room for intelligent debate. They wanted maximum disruption of other people’s lives. Was their dispersal state repression? Only if you think being a public nuisance is an inalienable right.
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