Last July 27, 2020, various groups from multiple advocacies in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental such as human rights, good governance, LGBTQ, and church clergy about to start a #SONAgKaisa Protest were stopped, intimidated, and threatened by local authorities for “illegal” assembly at the city’s Freedom Park despite having sent a letter beforehand to the Negros Oriental informing them of the activity.

Officer Cimafranca along with the AFP and PNP present searched through the participants’ belongings without a warrant, and confiscated their program and chant list. He said that calls to #OustDuterte and taking videos of the incident were “in violation of the law”. When questioned unto which law they had been violating, the authorities could not give an answer.

Participants from the Kabataan Para Sa Karapatan NegOr, Akabayn Dumaguete, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, and Illuminates of the Spectra (LGBTQ+ org) were also reprimanded for violating the mandate of “mass gathering” and for having “subversive placards” protesting the government. The participants had been following the two-meter distancing rule, wearing face masks, and having disinfectants.

Kabataan Para Sa Karapatan stated that according to the memorandum of the IATF, protest is not illegal, and has questioned the hostility of the authorities when several high ranking officials themselves have violated quarantine protocols without repercussions.

Under Public Assembly Act (BP 880), there is no need to file for a permit for an activity at any freedom park in the Philippines.

Protesters were vying to transfer to Siliman University, but the university was also heavily guarded by state authorities before they commenced their activity in Dumaguete’s Freedom Park.