UPI says QC LGU did not give permit for Day 3 of rally at People Power Monument

The United People's Initiative (UPI) on Tuesday said the Quezon City government has denied their request for a permit to hold Day 3 of their anti-corruption rally at the EDSA People Power Monument.

“We regret that the Quezon City government has denied us a permit to continue our peaceful rally at the People Power Monument,” UPI lead convenor Romeo Poquiz said in a statement. 

“As we issue this, the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) is now removing the tents, stage, and barriers along White Plains Avenue, effectively forcing the early cessation of our program", he added. 

For Poquiz, the city government’s decision was “clearly a harassment.”  

“We obey to avoid confrontation but continue the fight,” Poquiz said. 

Asked for a comment, Mayor Joy Belmonte told GMA News Online, “The initial permit was only for one day. It had already been extended an additional day.”

UPI, composed of at least 1,000 retired police and military personnel, are calling for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and legislators to end corruption amid anomalies in flood control projects.

It first held a rally at the People Power Monument on Sunday, Nov. 16.

The QC local government unit gave a permit to the group to hold a second day of their rally on Monday, Nov. 17 at the same venuee.

Cavite 4th district Representative Kiko Barzaga was present on the second day of the UPI rally, where he affirmed that the military and government agencies must withdraw support from Marcos.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will look into calls for Marcos to resign, and for the military to withdraw support from him, as some of the statements made may already be seditious, Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Monday.

He was reacting to statements made during the rally at the EDSA People Power Monument, largely calling for the President’s resignation amid the brewing corruption scandal.

“That’s close to inciting sedition. So i-investigate namin sila. Yung mga ganyang klaseng salita have no place in a civil society,” he said.

(We will investigate. Statements like that have no place in a civil society.) —KG, GMA Integrated News