Ben Madilynn
According to City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting, Jr. on Friday, September 20, the city government and the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) will now implement the no-permit, no-rally policy.
Ting said it has been observed that the rally participants now become violent if no one listens to their sentiments.
This was after at least 120 members of the transport groups, which were composed of traditional jeepney drivers and operators, held a protest rally at Lacson Street in Bacolod City on September 18, causing an injury to the police officers.
A total of four transport group leaders and two others were arrested by the BCPO Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) team and Police Station 2 for allegedly stoning the police officers.
The police tried to negotiate with them four times, but they took a stone and threw it at the police.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) along with the CDM tried to desperse the protesters using water cannon.
Ting said the protesters, who failed to secure permits, were creating alarm and scandal and causing traffic in the area.
“They also delayed the operations of the business establishments at Lacson Street,” he said.
He added in August 2024, at least 40 members of the transport groups also held a protest rally at the lobby of Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) to air their sentiments to Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez regarding the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
Ting noted that they were the same groups who were arrested at Lacson Street.
Ting said the police also exercised maximum tolerance to the protesters.
He said one of the business establishments at Lacson Street is also planning to file a complaint against the transport group for the damage of its building during the rally. /MAP.
