The protest march at Mendiola area this Friday, February 13, that calls for the resignation of President Benigno Aquino III. (UNTV News)
MANILA, Philippines – Around 100 members of different militant youth organizations staged a protest in Mendiola, Manila calling on President Aquino to step down from office.
They insist that the President is accountable for the Mamasapano, Maguindanao encounter that left 44 SAF troopers dead.
They also expressed dismay on the outcome of the recent inquiries done by both chambers of Congress because of the cover-ups being made to shun off the President’s accountability on the incident.
“You have senators and congressmen asking leading questions. They want to prove that President Noynoy Aquino did not give the go signal or approval and that he was not aware of what was happening on the ground,” Charisse Bañez, national spokesperson of the League of Filipino Students said.
The group BAYAN on its part asserted that attempts to cover up the President’s liability on the issue was clear in the congressional hearings.
“It was obvious, they were hiding some information, they are protecting someone, and they did not divulge all that they know. Always invoking executive session and executive privilege just shows that they are hiding something from the public but at the end of the day the truth will come out and the blame will go up to the president because he is the one that has to give clearance if the executive privilege will be granted or not,” Renato Reyes, Secretary General of BAYAN said in an interview on Friday.
Militant groups are also preparing for a mass protest, which will be done on February 25 in line with the EDSA People Power celebration.
On that day, they will commemorate the 1st month of the Mamasapano encounter.
Relatives of the slain SAF troopers are invited to join the occasion.
“On February 25 we will proceed to EDSA. We will start from Camp Crame and we will do a human chain in going to EDSA were different youth groups and peoples organizations will converge calling for Aquino’s resignation,” Bañez said.
Aside from the mass protest, a coup plot against the Aquino administration was also uncovered in the recent Senate inquiry.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin confirmed he received the same information and they are already verifying it.
But Malacañang palace is confident that there is no security threat to the nation because of the controversial Mamasapano operation.
“Our security situation is stable. The Secretary of National Defense and the spokesperson of the AFP and PNP said they are monitoring the overall security situation,” Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said. (Victor Cosare / UNTV News)