Tacloban protest set: Police on full alert

PALO, Leyte — Police in Eastern Visayas say they’re ready to keep things safe and orderly for what’s shaping up to be the region’s biggest anti-corruption rally since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in 2022.

PBGen Jason Capoy, regional director of Police Regional Office 8, stressed that the PNP respects the right of people to hold mass actions — as long as these remain peaceful and lawful.

The protest, organized by the multisectoral group Leyte Aksyon Laban sa Korapsyon, will kick off Sunday afternoon with a march from RTR Plaza People’s Park to the Sto. Niño Shrine.

The rally will shine a spotlight on two long-running issues: the still-unresolved problems in Yolanda rehabilitation — nearly 12 years after the super typhoon — and the controversial Tacloban causeway project on Cancabato Bay.

Paul Lachica, one of the lead convenors, said many government housing sites remain unlivable, with families still struggling from a lack of basic services like water and electricity. “Some houses are built, but without services, people can’t move in,” he said.

Environmental group Save Kankabatok Advocacy is also joining, raising alarm over the P3.97-billion Tacloban causeway project. The group said it has displaced over a thousand fisherfolk and was pushed through without the required Environmental Impact Assessment and clearance. They also argue it violates a 2003 ordinance declaring Cancabato Bay a protected marine area.

The DPWH project, a 2.56-kilometer four-lane causeway with a central bridge, bike lanes, sidewalks and wave deflectors, promises to cut travel time from Tacloban City Hall to the airport from 45 minutes to just 10. But critics say it comes at too high an environmental and social cost.