[MN]: Peaceful Protests in the Philippines

[CampinKiller]

In Manila, a crowd of people began to gather in front of the seat of their government. These people have become fed up with their government's massive spending on defense, seeing it as something that is unnecessary for the country. They believe it is taking away from more important issues facing the country as a whole. As a result, people begin to march in front of the Congress, holding up signs calling for reduced military spending, and focus on more internal affairs. People begin chants, calling for more internal investment, as opposed to the continued expansion of the armed forces.

As the march continues to grow, some of the organizers begin to get up and speak to the crowd of people. They give impassioned speeches, calling on the Congress to cut military spending, as there are people "right here" in the capitol who need help from their government. They say that the country does not have external threats, but rather internal issues, and are demanding that Congress, and the President, act to help improve the country. Many begin to make posts on social media about the protest.

 

[Apingdaldal]

[Given that it is stated that the protest is only in Manila; it is not the entire Metro Manila/National Capital Region but only in Manila city. And given that it is stated that "a crowd of people gathered front of the seat of their government" which is in this case is the Malacanang Palace in Manila, yet it was only mentioned that "people begin to march in front of the Congress", this implies that the protesters gather only in front Malacanang Palace then began their march to Congress which is in Batasang Pambansa located in Quezon City, not in Manila. No protesters remained in Malacanang Palace as they all marched from Manila city to Quezon City.]

Since President Duterte is still in Indonesia for an important state visit, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque would address Pres. Duterte's message to the handful of tired, thirsty, protesters gathered in front of Batasang Pambansa via all media outlets (AM/FM radios, TV, newspaper, and the Philippine government's Official Gazette):

"To the Filipino people. I apologize for not being there right now in our country. You all know who I am and how I do things in a straightforward manner. I am your leader and your father. Yet I am also an employee and a worker, with the Filipino people is my employer, my boss. I fully understand that some of doubts on how I run our country; particularly in how our national budget is spent. Rest assured that every single centavo is being spend efficiently and all are for the greater good and for the greater prosperity of the Philippines.

With regards to the military spending, while it is true that currently don't have immediate external threats, we have to understand that having a credible armed forces is vital in any country. That having a credible military is an investment; and not just for bragging rights or for shows. When the worst come, I'd rather have our country to be in a situation where we have a credible military which don't need yet; rather that in a situation where we don't have a credible military if needed. Afterall,the profound adage: "Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum" will never be wrong even in the foreseeable future.

Let me further justify the necessity of our recent military spending. Actually, we have invested heavily on the recruitment and training of our soldiers and military servicemen, and not in excessive military equipment like other countries tend to do. This is necessary after, I firmly believe that the greatest resource of the Armed Forces, or for that matter in all organization, are it's people. This is a testament that your government is serious with it's goal for our country to have a higher Human Development Index. Furthermore, the recent recruitment spending is actually not all soldiers; contrary to what few protesters claim. Bulk of the recent nationwide recruitment are non-military personnel policemen and Coast Guard sailors/personnel. And even in our military recruitment, majority of them are not combat personnel. Majority are in fact non-combat personnel such as doctors, nurses, IT professionals, engineers, teachers, civic relations personnel, and several non-combat personnel optimized for MOOTW i.e. disaster relief, humanitarian aid, providing assistance to local government units for any infrastructure projects, etc. That said, it is clear that our newly established military is not just limited to military operations. Our military is a core instrument in nation-building.

Last May 2011, the government has just completed the Malampaya Phase IV project (http://w11.zetaboards.com/ModernNationsRPG/topic/30496284/1/#new); a very important investment for our liquified natural gas (LNG) industry. The Malampaya Phase IV project alone has provided thousands of jobs in the provinces of the Southern Tagalog and Minparom state such as Batangas, Laguna, Mindoro, and Palawan.

I reassure the Filipino people has more reason to be excited to expect more numerous of infrastructure programs in the near future. One of these upcoming project will be a National Telecom/Broadband Project which will improve the overall telecommunication network and internet service in the entire Philippine archipelago. Once this ambitious project is completed, it will greatly boost our country's commerce, e-commerce, IoT (Internet of Things) industry, BPO (business processing outsourcing) industry, inter and intra state coordination for disaster readiness/alertness, law enforcement, etc.

Another upcoming project will be spearheaded by our Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Transportation (DoTR).

The Department of Energy (DOE) is currently crafting plans for renewable energy projects.

And last but not the lest, despite not getting enough media mileage, our Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Tourism (DoT) are busy forging business deals and strengthening our tourism sector.

To my fellow Filipinos, especially to those who are expressing their discontent and doubts on my administration, I sincerely and humbly request you to trust your government, to have more patience and faith in me, and our Prime Minister, to our Congress, and to our Armed Forces of the Philippines; who are all working tirelessly towards a genuinely prosperous Philippines.

Sa aking mga minamahal na kababayan, maraming salamat sa inyong pag-unawa. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! (To all my country, my greatest appreciation for your understanding. Loving live the Philippines!)"

​

= = = = =

As SPOX Harry Roque finished relaying the message of President Duterte, a quick result from Social Weather Survey (SWS) and Pulse Asia (all are independent organization and not from the government) was plugged in all media outlets that the Duterte Administration garnered.

​

​

(OOC: just change the year from 2016 to current MN year ^_^ )

= = = = =

Meanwhile in Pambasang Pambansa in Quezon City, Policemen have cordoned the area around Batasang Pambansa. Additional traffic enforcers are deployed to ensure the traffic flow along Commonwealth Avenue and Batasan Road will move continuously. the policemen also adhered to maximum tolerance as they see that the protesters are peaceful and non-violent.

​

(OOC: also ignore the APEC summit 2015 caption ^_^ )

= = = = = = = = = = = = =

Also given that there is no detail on how the protest was organized in Post #1, it is assumed that the protesters was forced to march from Manila all the way to Quezon City, without food and water, non-stop. With this, many ordinary Filipino citizens, not just from Metro Manila but in all states, expressed their strong disgust to whoever irresponsible organizer of that peaceful yet torture protest via social media. Several comments in social media stated that the protest was initiated by a few people with self-serving, selfish and malicious interest.

Going back to Batasang Pambansa, several hundred policemen and 100x military logistic personnel from Camp Aguinaldo AFP GHQ (in Cubao, Quezon City) where deployed to distribute bottle water, snacks, and wet towels to the extremely tired, thirsty, exhausted protesters who marched from Mendiola Street of Malacanang Palace all the way to Batasang Pambansa. The 100x military logistics personnel will immediately go back to Camp Aguinaldo once they finished distributing the supplies to the protesters.

 

[Apingdaldal]

[more than 24 hours has already passed. my turn]


Under the heat of the afternoon sun, the protesters paused whatever demonstration they were doing to take the food and water the policemen and military logistics personnel gave them. While they graciously consume the offered food and water; the protesters are starting to realize how misguided their demonstration is.

Gradually, the number of protesters in front of Batasang Pambansa are dwindling as protester started to pack up and return back their their respective home in Manila Of course those protester who are leaving will return back to Manila not by feet anymore like how they were forced to do earlier. They will commute back via different mass transportation i.e. jeepneys' and buses.

Meanwhile, 25 protesters were rushed to AFP Medical Center (a military hospital situated in V.Luna, Quezon City) by policemen when they started collapsing due to heat stroke. All necessary medical services and treatment were given to those 25 protesters by the military doctors and nurses.

​

All these happenings are broadcasted live in mainstream media and social media.

 

[Apingdaldal]

[more than 24 hours passed]

Along Commonwealth Avenue and Batasan Road, all the Manileño protesters has left the areas where they have conducted their demonstration in from of Batasang Pambansa. All the protester has been assisted back to Manila, where free commute from public utility vehicles (jeepneys, passenger vans, and buses) provided to them.
Seeing all the demonstrator has left, policemen started dismantling the barricades in front of Batasang Pambansa. Street cleaners from MMDA started cleaning up of trash (mostly paper and placards) left by the Manileño protesters.

Meanwhile in AFP Medical Center in V-Luna, Quezon City; all the 25 protesters who were admitted due to heatstroke, weakness, and fatigue has been treated and are in stable condition. They will all stay 1 more day in the military hospital then afterwards all of them shall be discharged and will return back to Manila, peacefully.

The clear majority of Filipinos nationwide (and in abroad) are commending, via mainstream and social media, the government of the Federal Republic of the Philippines as well as the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for handling the situation professionally and peacefully. In Twitter and Facebook; the official social media account of the Philippine national government received 20+ million Likes in just 2 days.