The Hakbang ng Maisug prayer rally on Tuesday pushed through at the Freedom Park Capitol area with former president Rodrigo Duterte leading the activity despite being denied permit twice.
The former president arrived in Dumaguete City on Monday, together with Peter Laviña, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, and former member of the House of Representative lawyer Glenn Chong.
The rally, which was organized by the Transparency, Accountability, Peace, and Security (TAPS) Coalition and the Kilusang Pagbabago Lead Organization Incorporated (KP-LOI), was supposedly won’t go on after the Dumaguete City government revoked its permit.
Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo issued the permit for the May 7 rally on April 16, 2024.
Remollo said he was informed by the police in a letter on May 3 that because of short notice they could not provide adequate security, without augmentation, for the former president.
Chong shared on his X (former Twitter) social media platform that the police wrote a letter to Mayor Remollo asking the mayor to withdraw the permit because of him (Chong).
“Ito ay letter ng acting chief of police of Dumaguete Police Station, sumulat sa city mayor of Dumaguete at hinimok na bawiin yung permit para sa Maisug rally. At ang sabi isa daw sa participants ng Maisug rally ay si Atty. Glenn Chong. A known political figure who has been observed incendiary political statements and making libelous remarks against the First Lady,” Chong said on Tuesday.
As of this writing, the rally is scheduled to push through and not yet cancelled again.
This is not the first time that the Hakbang ng Maisug prayer rally encountered setbacks.
It can be recalled that the Hakbang ng Maisug prayer rally at the Davao del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex in Mankilam, Tagum City last month pushed through despite hitting several snags.
Hours before the Davao del Norte rally, power outage, temporary closure of the Davao International Airport (DIA) runway, and withdrawal of the military from the venue of the rally were reported.
On April 28, the scheduled Hakbang ng Maisug prayer rally in Bulacan was cancelled last minute after the mayors of province did not gave the organizers the permit to stage the rally.
