Protesters from opposite camps turned the Mendiola Bridge fronting Malacañan Palace into a standoff venue as they respectively commemorated the birth anniversary of national hero Andres Bonifacio.
Pro-administration rallyers voiced their support to a move toward the declaration of a so-called revolutionary government, or “revgov”, which they see as the only way to open the door toward a shift to federalism.
Anti-administration protesters, meanwhile, marched heading toward Mendiola with their placards and streamers, calling out the government for its perceived abuses and oppressive tendencies toward the poor.
A phalanx of police officers in civil disturbance gear stood between the two groups.
The militant leftist group pressed onward against the police line and, before long, push came to shove until the law enforcers resorted to turning on the water hose from fire trucks to try and quell the commotion.
One policeman was scene bloodied from the scuffle.
The leftists managed to disengage and decided to hold their program nearby with speeches by the likes of former social welfare secretary Judy Taguiwalo, who pointed out the flaw in the “revgov” ploy, which she described as deceptive, because “it sets out to remove the Constitution, the government even. So who is left standing? One man. In other words, a dictatorship.”
