PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Around 5,000 members and supporters of the Palawan for President Rodrigo Duterte Movement came together here early Thursday afternoon in a grand rally to back the declaration of a “revolutionary government.”
The mass assembly started with a motorcade of nearly a hundred vehicles at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum, in Barangay San Pedro to the People’s Amphitheater in Mendoza Park, 2.7 kilometers to the center of the city.
Most of President Duterte’s lead supporters here who joined the mass rally wore red with “RevGov” stickers on their cars. The rallyists also carried streamers and banners which read “Rebolusyonaryong Kapangyarihan.”
Richard Arambulo, president of the movement’s chapter in Puerto Princesa and one of the lead organizers of the event, said it is a “collective force of the masses” that supports President Duterte’s pronouncement to adopt a revolutionary government to easily pave the way for federalism and development of the country.
“Yong purpose ng rally ay para suportahan iyong panawagan na revolutionary government. Bale ito ay sama-samang puwersa ng masa, ng mga tao, para suportahan ang ating president (The purpose of the rally is to support the call for a revolutionary government. This is shared force of the people to support the president),” Arambulo in an interview shortly before the motorcade at the coliseum.
A revolutionary government, he explained, would be beneficial to the country as it would pave the way for the review and amendment of the Philippines’ charter through a constitutional convention.
It would also speed up development, particularly if legislators would obstruct the budget due to the ditching of the use of government funds for projects intended to gratify voters.
“Kung baga ito parang isang rally na sumusuporta doon sa ganoong hakbang. Maganda siya dahil magbibigay ito ng kapangyarihan sa Presidente para irepaso iyong ating konstitusyon. Kung titignan natin ang ating konstitusyon pabor siyasa… kunyari nagsasagawang korupsyon. Hindi natin maikulong agad, kulang ang ngipin ng batas, at sa ka ang bagal ng batas natin (This is like a rally that supports that kind of move. It’s beautiful because it will give power to the President to review our Constitution. If we will look at our Constitution, it’s favorable… to those who commit corruption. We cannot imprison them immediately, our laws don’t have enough teeth, and it’s slow),” he added.
Caesar Ventura of the Kilusan Love Malampaya (KLM), also one of the lead organizers, said the grand rally is a way to convince President Duterte that if there is no more hope to change the depraved system in Philippine governance, then a revolutionary government could be a solution.
“Ito ay pagkumbinsi lang sa ating Presidente Duterte na kung talagang walang pag-asa na baguhin ang sistema ay ito ang ating solusyon — na mag-declare siya ng revolutionary government (This is to encourage President Duterte that if there is really no more hope to change the system, then this is the solution — to declare a revolutionary government),” Ventura said.
He added that the mass movement was also to show the “leader of the land” that they will be “on his side for the good of the country.”
After the rally, a manifesto of support to Duterte was signed by the organizers, the leaders of participating groups and organizations, and other movements that support him. (PNA)
