‘EDSA Tayo’ crowd falls short of expectations

MANILA, Philippines - The number of participants in yesterday’s “EDSA Tayo” prayer rally fell short of expectations, as there were almost more police than attendees of the vigil calling for the abolition of the pork barrel system.

Earlier, more than 5,000 reportedly confirmed attendance in the event, according to the EDSA Tayo Facebook page. But only around 1,200 showed up at the EDSA Shrine, police said.

The number of participants is significantly less than the estimated 100,000 people who joined the Million People March in Rizal Park last Aug. 26 for the same cause.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Chief Superintendent Marcelo Garbo Jr. said there were about 200 to 350 people at the EDSA Shrine around noon yesterday, while the number of policemen was around 500 with more positioned in other strategic areas. Total police deployment for the activity was reported at 2,931.

Quezon City Police District deputy director for administration Senior Superintendent Joel Pagdilao said the number of participants swelled to about 700 in the afternoon. The attendees peaked at around 1,200 at 3 p.m., Garbo said.

EDSA Tayo organizers said they were satisfied with the turnout.

“We are not after the numbers. We are satisfied,” said Junep Ocampo, one of the organizers.

“We will be asking so much from the people if we force them to be absent from their jobs or classes. We don’t want to cause additional suffering,” he added.

Keep the fire burning

Ocampo also said that the people behind the multisectoral and inter-faith prayer vigil just wanted to continue the fight against the pork barrel system that was started during the Million People March.

“We were inspired by the Million People March. We don’t want the calls to abolish the pork barrel system to stop in Luneta,” he said.

While both events called for the abolition of the pork barrel system, Ocampo said yesterday’s activity was different from the previous gathering.

“This is not a protest rally. This is a prayer vigil. We want the same thing, but we want to do it in a different way. We want to do it with prayer,” he said.

Meanwhile, EDSA Shrine rector Fr. Nilo Mangusad said in his homily that Filipinos should be vigilant and be proactive regarding the pork barrel scam. – With Mike Frialde, Evelyn Macairan, Dino Balabo, Non Alquitran, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Jaime Laude