Pinoy Weekly - #SONA2013: ‘Parliament of the Street’ Convenes (PW Special Coverage)

Posted: 21 Jul 2013 10:57 AM PDT Last year’s Protesta ng Bayan (People’s Protest) march on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City. (PW File Photo) Tweets by @pinoyweekly With a significant portion of mainstream media focused on what will be happening in the halls of the Senate building (in the morning) and Batasan Pambansa (morning until late afternoon) today, Pinoy Weekly–as we traditionally have been doing for more than a decade now –will focus on the “parliament of the streets” that will be convened. If the weekend before SONA were any indication, chances are that hundreds, even thousands, of cops from the Philippine National Police will be using significant force to keep the thousands of protesters away from Batasan Pambansa. Last Sunday, July 22, reports came in from Southern Tagalog that cops tried to block jeepneys carrying protesters from arriving in Metro Manila. Meanwhile, as if in a war zone, cops fortified the “islands” in the middle of Commonwealth Avenue with concertina wires (those with sharp blades, seen often in Mendiola Bridge). The Quezon City mayor earlier denied a permit for the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-led march today — a clear violation of people’s constitutional right to freedom of expression, speech and assembly. But the progressive groups are undaunted. Pinoy Weekly covers their protest action, providing live Twitter andFacebook updates and photos. Follow and be part of the conversations and updates through the hashtags #SONA2013and #SONAngBayan.