"Welcome
to Davao City. Just don't make trouble and make sure you leave the
rally area as clean as when you arrived."
This
was the message of Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte last night to the
over 100,000 members of the Iglesia in Cristo from Davao Region who
are expected to stage a rally in front of the Hall of Justice in
Matina, Davao City starting today.
Saying
that the right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed in the Philippine
Constitution, Duterte who is in Manila for a series of engagements,
directed his people by phone to ensure that commuters are not
bothered by the rallyists.
Under
Duterte, Davao City no longer requires a permit from the City Hall to
hold a rally or a public demonstration.
"Public
assembly is a Constitutional right but making trouble is not,"
the tough-talking Mayor who turned Davao City from a Killing Fields
of Communist assassins to one of the World's Safest Cities.
Duterte
last night said he has instructed the City Police, Traffic Management
Office and the Public Safety Unit to ensure that the Iglesia
rallyists are protected in exercising their freedom to assemble and
to express their grievance.
He
said the flow of traffic has been rerouted to ensure that the
rallyists who are expected to mass near the public transport terminal
in Ecoland where provincial buses wait for passengers would not be
bothered.
Policemen
were also dispatched to the area as of last night but they were
instructed to keep a safe distance away from the rallyists, Duterte
said.
"Exercise
maximum tolerance. You don't need crowd dispersal equipment there.
Just talk to the leaders of the Iglesia. Everything will be fine,"
Duterte instructed his people by phone last night.
The
City's 911 Emergency Response Unit was also tasked to closely monitor
the situation and ensure that rallyists who would have health
concerns could be properly attended to immediately, he said.
The
City's army of street sweepers and cleaners have also been directed
to focus on the rally area to ensure that cleanliness is maintained,
Duterte said.
Davao
City is a Hall of Famer in the annual search for the Cleanest and
Greenest Cities in the country with street cleaners, mostly widows
and single mothers, doing their assignments as early as 3 a.m.
Duterte,
who is known to be an excellent crisis manager and negotiator, said
he has tapped police and army officers who are members of the INC to
act as coordinators to ensure that the rally is orderly and peaceful.
"The
issues which brought them to Davao City to rally are none of my
concern. They can rally as long as they want for as long as they
don't create trouble," he said.
The
huge INC rally in Davao City is apparently in support of a bigger
gathering of the church's members in EDSA Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.
The
rally in the major highway in the middle of Metro Manila, however,
has created a monstrous traffic jam which has angered motorists.
In
Davao City, where residents are used to the gathering of thousands
mainly to attend two major annual events - the Araw ng Davao and the
week-long Kadayawan - the mood of the people is different.
Residents
of Davao City, the traditional trading centre of Southern Mindanao,
view huge gatherings as an opportunity to do business.
"Let
them come. We're not worried. I'm sure they will buy something from
our stores and our malls will be flooded by clients from the
provinces," said Duterte.
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