By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 09:11pm (Mla time) 05/09/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- A band of protesters demanding the withdrawal of soldiers from urban slums ended up being driven out by the residents themselves Wednesday.

The incident at the Parola Compound in Tondo was ironic as the soldiers were ready to pull out of the community as ordered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Hours after Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. announced Wednesday his order for troops to pull out of depressed Manila communities, angry residents at Parola Compound in Tondo surrounded a Roman Catholic bishop and about 50 demonstrators calling for the soldiers to leave, and screamed at them to leave the soldiers alone.

"Lumayas kayo [Get out!]," the residents shouted.

"They apparently knew we would be coming so they had already prepared," Manila Auxiliary bishop Broderick Pabillo told the Philippine Daily Inquirer as he was being escorted out of the crowded Gate 17 Alley in Parola Compound, Tondo.

Marching under the scorching heat, more than 50 protesters braved the crowded and narrow alley Wednesday noon, planning to hold a short rally in front of the multipurpose center at the edge of the alley, where seven soldiers were staying.

They were condemning the deployment of Army personnel in 26 areas in the metropolis since 2006, fearing the soldiers were on a mission to influence the results of the elections.

"We get feedback that the soldiers were campaigning for certain party list groups," Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. said.

"Their mere presence also sends a signal, since we know that the military is under the command of the administration," Iñiguez added.

Some residents were startled when the group started chanting. But when they realized what the message was, many of them started yelling back.

"We don't want them to leave," 41-year-old mother Nene said, saying the number of robberies and brawls dwindled since the soldiers arrived in their area.

The residents said the soldiers’ night patrol kept the neighborhood safe. They were also thankful for the multipurpose center the soldiers renovated, the day care center and public toilets they built and the medical missions they conducted.

"They have been helping us. Only drug addicts and criminals would want to drive them away," said 42-year-old Peter, who has been staying at the area in the last two decades.

Protest organizers tried to explain that soldiers should be deployed in combat areas in the provinces, but not in the metropolis. The jeers of the residents prevailed, however.

Half-naked men, grandmothers and children gathered in front of the multipurpose center, preventing the protesters to get near.

"Lumayas kayo (Go away)!" the residents yelled.

On the upper floor of the center, three soldiers quietly observed the confrontation.

Second Lieutenant Jereco Niwane said they had been in the area since December 2006 and were deployed to render community development services.

Asked why many residents were defending them, he said: "We don't know."

The protesters said the soldiers had no business in the metropolis, because peace and order should be handled by the local police.

But 32-year-old mother Mary Jane said the nearest police precinct was hundreds of meters away.

"They (police) come here only if we call them, unlike the soldiers who are easy to call," she said.

Niwane said there were instances when people sought their help in catching criminal suspects. "We respond to calls for help but we coordinate with village watchmen and Bantay Bayan members in doing arrests," he told the Inquirer in Filipino.

A rally organizer admitted it was not the confrontation they expected. In their advisories to the media, organizers hinted at a possible confrontation between them and the soldiers.

"We were surprised with the residents' reaction," Kabataan party list member Enrico Almonguerra said in Filipino.

"We are now seeing the effects of the deception of the military, that they are here to solve criminality, repair roads and hold medical missions," he added.

"But that is not their job. The police is in charge of peace and order. The Department of Health is there. The Department of Public Works and Highways should repair the roads," Almonguerra also said.

The group just transferred to Isla Puting Bato in Baseco Compound, where organizers invited residents to an interfaith prayer.

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Catholic ako pero hindi ako magdadalawang isip sigawan ibang bishop satin. ayaw ko maging komunista ang pilipinas.