By JONATHAN DE SANTOS
THE rallyists had their own calls and campaigns and clung to their own advocacies, but for a few hours at least, they were united in calling for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the prosecution of lawmakers and individuals involved in the allocation of public money to fake nongovernmental organizations and into nonexistent projects.
Crowd estimates differed, but what was certain was that number of people who trooped to the Luneta did not meet the million they hoped to assemble for what was called the Million People March.
The Coast Guard, which sent a chopper to fly over the Park, pegged the number at 80,000. The Manila Police District estimated the crowd to have reached only 75,000.
Still, the parallel rallies in various cities gave the rally a nationwide character. Rallies were reported being held from Zamboanga in the South to Baguio in the North, and many more towns and cities in between.
People of various persuasions showed up at the Luneta. From the Catholic Church, among those who attended were Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle and Archbishop Oscar Cruz.
Ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona braved the crowds and showed up, only to be booed by the crowd. Corona was impeached last year on charges of corruption and conflict of interest.
From the left, the usual rally leaders such as Bayan activist Renato Reyes also mingled with the crowd, going around carrying a megaphone and a stepladder to hold impromptu discussions with various groups.
Because there were no leaders and no organizing committee, there was no program and no central stage, and Reyes had to pause every now and then as chanting from the crowd drowned him out.
He said that although President Benigno Aquino III has said PDAF will be scrapped, members of Congress will still be able to choose their pet projects.
“Naniniwala ba tayo dun (Do we believe that)?” he asked, and the crowd answered with a resounding “No.”
Leody de Guzman of Nagkaisa, a coalition of 47 national labor groups allied with APL, shared Reyes’ sentiments.
Speaking at a makeshift stage outside the venue, de Guzman said the PDAF might just be retained under a different guise. He said that was what happened to the Countrywide Development Fund that the PDAF replaced.
He said the President couldn’t easily get rid of PDAF because it is useful for political patronage.
“These aren’t development funds, these are political funds,” he said.
De Guzman added simply removing the PDAF will not mean government will be free of corruption.
“We need a Freedom of Information law,” he said, to make government truly accountable and transparent. “Even if Pork is abolished, if we don’t have FOI, the government can still do ‘magic.’”
Groups under Bagong Alyansang Makabayan marched in the same line as activists from Alliance of Progressive Labor, Sanlakas, and Akbayan.
Estrellita Bagasbas of Bayan-affiliated urban poor group Kadamay, meanwhile, talked about the cost of PDAF misuse.
“They say there is no money for decent housing. It turns out there is money but it goes to corruption for their own interests,” she said.
Even people not affiliated with political groups showed up, many wearing white shirts and carrying handmade placards.
Despite the different political colors of the thousands who attended the rally, people at Quirino were one in shouting “Makibaka, huwag mag-baboy (Fight, don’t touch pork)” and the even catchier “Oink, oink, oink, oink.”
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