Ben Madilynn
Turn of events
SunStar Davao monitored the situation on the evening of August 26, the night when protesters and police forces occupied the entire highway.
Around 7 p.m. on the same day, some KOJC members formed a barricade along the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway in front of the KOJC compound. They also lined up their vehicles, which included five cars, two fire trucks, a wing van, and two cranes, as barricades.
Later on, protesters occupied both lanes and started chanting “BBM resign”, “Hustisya! Hustisya!,” and “Gawas Torre!”, urging Police Regional Office-Davao Region (PRO-Davao) Director Nicolas Torre III to face the protesters.
Media members who were covering outside the barricade were surprised by the turn of events.
A long-range acoustic device (LRAD) was employed by the police to disperse the protesters. However, they were not deterred and continued their action.
The police official, who was holding the megaphone, reiterated “maximum tolerance.”
In the middle of the protest, both parties exchanged responses, with the KOJC’s side calling for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to resign. They also aired out the injustices that the pastor and the entire congregation are facing due to the presence of the police. Some of them chanted profanities to the police, insisting that police leave the premises and calling their move “harassment”.
The large barricade was dispersed the next day, and the police told the KOJC members to stop their rally outside the KOJC compound, asserting that many residents and businesses were being disrupted due to the blocked road.
However, the KOJC members did not back down, citing a special permit they had gotten from the Davao City Mayor’s Office.
In the afternoon, authorities had given them an ultimatum to disperse. This order was given around 2:30 p.m. Eventually, the majority of the protesters dispersed.
Lawyer Israelito Torreon, KOJC lead counsel, reported that 18 KOJC members were arrested for allegedly resisting the order.
Torreon slammed the dispersal order, citing that the protesters were just exercising their right to freedom of expression.
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