MANILA, 22 October 2005 — At least eight people were injured yesterday when anti-riot police clashed with several thousand militant farmers and left-wing activists who were trying to march close to Malacañang Palace to demand the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Five protesters and three policemen were injured in the clashes at the corner of C.M. Recto and Morayta before both sides declared a truce, averting a feared bloody confrontation.
The protesters included farmers and fishermen who had come from different points around Luzon in a six-day Lakbayan (People’s March) intended to end at Mendiola (Don Chino Roces) Bridge.
The 17,000-strong police force in Manila have gone on full alert to deal with almost-daily protests, some of which have turned violent after authorities trained water cannons on anti-Arroyo activists last week.
Protesters accused Arroyo of vote rigging, corruption and repression, but the president on Thursday brushed aside the charges, saying, “A state that cowers in fear before the mob cannot stand for long.”
Arroyo has angered protesters by imposing a strict “no permit, no rally” policy, saying the noisy demonstrations that snarl traffic in crowded commercial districts were becoming a nuisance.
Yesterday’s rally was the largest in several weeks, gathering up to 10,000 mostly farmers and fishermen who traveled from provinces north and south of Manila.
They were stopped near the historic Mendiola Bridge, which has become a shrine for protesters, several hundred meters from the presidential palace gates.
A brief scuffle erupted when a group of protesters tried to push their way forward, only to be repulsed by a phalanx of riot police. Six officers were injured after being hit by flying objects, police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil said. Rally organizers said six were also hurt on their side.
The protesters, weary of provocateurs, beat up two men who allegedly infiltrated their ranks, including one military intelligence agent who was seen with a gun.
Capt. Ramon Zagala, spokesman for the National Capital Region Command, said the agent broke a rule against bringing a weapon to a rally, but denounced the beating, saying he was just monitoring the movement of the protesters.
Zagala said Marine Sergeant Fernando Alcantara was about 100 meters away, monitoring the rally. “He was just doing his job,” Zagala said.
“He was there on an official mission. We have received persistent reports that the New People’s Army (NPA) will infiltrate the ranks,” Zagala said in a separate phone interview with Inquirer News Service.
He said monitoring soldiers were prohibited from bringing firearms but Alcantara might have brought his gun, a .45-caliber pistol, because of these reports.
“It was a lapse in judgment on his (Alcantara’s) part. Maybe he thought about the (NPA) threat... That is being investigated,” Zagala said.
Zagala also said that he had no information about retired army 2nd Lieutenant Eliseo Madrid who was also nabbed by the protesters in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform building in Quezon City on Thursday night.
A rally marshal noticed Madrid’s gun holster as the “Lakbayan” protesters were staging their program in front of the DAR building at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, said Carl Ala, information officer of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Movement of Filipino Farmers, KMP) earlier yesterday.
Madrid, who was turned over to the Quezon City police, said he was only waiting for a ride on his way home to Tarlac province. He said he was also a photographer, which was why he was taking pictures of the rally. He said he had a license for the gun.
With the police standing their ground to prevent the marchers from reaching Mendiola Bridge, officers agreed to allow the demonstrators to hold a rally on the main road leading to the palace, about half a kilometer away from the palace gates.
The demonstrators dispersed hours later without further incident.
Arroyo later visited officers deployed near the rally site where she was shown police video of the scuffle before pinning medals on the officers who were injured.
Arroyo said Thursday she would not buckle amid the protests and would strengthen the government against those who attempt to destabilize it. The presidential palace has also been placed on high security amid persistent coup rumors.
Arroyo’s opponents have intensified protests after the House of Representatives, which is dominated by the president’s allies, threw out impeachment charges against her on a technicality in late August.
She has been accused of rigging last year’s elections, but has denied any wrongdoing and refused to step down. (With input from AP & Inquirer News Service)
