Anti-pork rally? ‘Majority’ still support Aquino – Palace

Natashya Gutierrez

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Anti-pork rally? ‘Majority’ still support Aquino – Palace
Malacañang says the anti-pork rally is just one event and the bigger picture shows Filipinos still support the President

MANILA, Philippines – What anti-pork rally?

A day after protests at Luneta asking for the abolition of all types of development funds allotted to lawmakers also known as “pork barrel,” Palace Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma had only this to say: “The President and the administration continues to listen to the voice of the people.” 

On Tuesday, August 26, Coloma refused to comment on whether he thought the thin crowd at the protest was pleasing to the administration – especially in comparison to the Million People March from a year prior.

Instead, Coloma said protest rallies are part of the “dynamics of our democracy” and said the information they’ve received show that Filipinos are still overwhelmingly pro-Aquino – especially after the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“We don’t focus on one event, on one rally, on one sector. What we look at is if on the whole, do the Filipino people understand the changes being undertaken?” Coloma said.

“The feedback we’ve received are favorable. Many understand the programs of the President, many have expressed their support for him and their faith in his leadership….If we look at public opinion surveys, it shows that the President enjoys the support of a majority of our people,” he added.

Coloma also said the issues of the rallyists have already been addressed by the administration and there were no new issues raised by the protesters.

Despite this, Coloma gave assurances the government continues to monitor the pulse of the nation through surveys, social media, and other platforms.

“There is no start point and end point because that is part of our daily tasks – to know the pulse of the people, to understand their sentiments. So we continue to collect feedback from the people through various means,” he said.

On Monday, August 25, protesters took to the streets and signed a “people’s initiative” petition, which both seeks to eradicate all forms of pork barrel in the government budget.

The crowd was much less than last year’s rally wherein hundreds of thousands showed up to call for the government to abolish the pork barrel system and to punish lawmakers who misused their development funds.

On the same day, in Quezon City, the Koalisyon ng Mamamayan para sa Reporma (KOMPRe) – a group supporting the reforms by the administration – was also launched.  Rappler.com

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Natashya Gutierrez

Natashya is President of Rappler. Among the pioneers of Rappler, she is an award-winning multimedia journalist and was also former editor-in-chief of Vice News Asia-Pacific. Gutierrez was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders for 2023.