Iglesia ni Cristo members have been blocking parts of EDSA since last night, in protest over actions taken by the Department of Justice. DILG Secretary Mar Roxas responded with the below statement:
The statement, which was published on his official Facebook page, reads as follows:
[Admin:] Statement of DILG Secretary Mar Roxas on the INC protest action along EDSA:
As in all protest actions, preserving peace and order with maximum tolerance will be practiced by all responding policemen.
While all citizens have the right to be heard and to peaceful assembly, the exercise of these rights cannot impinge on the rights of others or cause inconvenience to anyone. Lalo na yung mga kababayan nating pauwi sa kanilang mga tahanan para magpahinga at makasama ang kanilang mga pamilya.
The PNP is duty-bound to ensure that the safety and general welfare of the public is maintained, both those protesting and those uninvolved. This includes making sure opportunists do not try to take advantage of the situation for personal ends.
Let us remember that ours is a Rule of Law and not of men.
It is understood that the protest permit INC hold is for Manila, and not EDSA where they currently are, meaning the group at the very least was in breach of the law by blocking the main thoroughfare of Metro Manila last night and inconveniencing hundreds of thousands of people in the process.
It seems the situation will likely stay like this until Sunday or Monday, meaning more traffic misery for motorists, and loss of income for many local businesses due to weekend shoppers not being able to reach their shops and malls, or simply staying at home to avoid the chaos. The damage to the economy will likely go into millions of dollars.
What do you think of the whole affair? Are INC members right in blocking EDSA and causing chaos for everyone, or should they have protested differently?
