But they almost did not make it when the police tried to block their way.
Mati Chief of Police Candido Suralta stopped the protesters on grounds that they did not have a permit for the activity.
“But the soldiers did not even ask our permission when they conducted operations in our village!” one of the protesters said in a confrontation with the police officer.
But upon arriving at the gates of the SP building, Vice Governor Joel Mayo Almario saw the protesters from his car. He called Suralta by phone, asking him to allow some of the protesters to his office.
After a brief negotiation with community leaders, human rights advocates and some members of the clergy, Almario allowed the protesters to speak in the session.
Indigenous Peoples
