SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS and coalitions will hold protest rallies around Metro Manila and other major cities on Monday to show disapproval over various government policies as President Rodrigo R. Duterte delivers his third State of the Nation Address (SONA). An umbrella protest hosted by the group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), dubbed as the United People’s SONA, will have multi-sectoral organizations converge at the St. Peter’s Parish along Commonwealth Avenue at 3:00 p.m. near the Batasang Pambansa Complex, where Mr. Duterte will deliver his supposedly 35-minute prepared speech. Church leaders and opposition officials such as Senator Antontio F. Trillanes IV will meet at the San Antonio De Padua Parish in Quezon City to toll the church’s bell as a sign of dissent against the extra-judicial killings attributed to Mr. Duterte’s ongoing war against illegal drugs. According to data released by the Philippine National Police (PNP), 20,322 people have died from “legitimate” police operations, with 4,279 classified as drug-related. BAYAN and other protesting groups plan to burn an effigy of Mr. Duterte at 6:00 p.m. to show discontent over alleged human rights violations committed by the current administration as well as its ongoing push for charter change. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio
