Besides the prosecutors, reports from the field said small groups of both retired and active-duty firefighters, soldiers and policemen joined the crowd. Retired Marines Col. Ariel Querubin said he received numerous text messages from other soldiers informing him they were on site. Querubin said in a TV interview he himself was reminded by his son, who is based in Patikul, Sulu, about the invitation for him to be at Luneta from a group of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) alumni.
The presence of prosecutors, meanwhile, had the blessings of their higher-ups. Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said the prosecutors have the right to join the mass action. “They can express their sentiments on, and support to any legitimate cause, such as abolition of the pork barrel. We all have reasons to be enraged and outraged,” she said.
Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said “a prosecutor who on his own personal advocacy joins the rally not on official time is well within his right to do so as any citizens of this republic. This right is recognized without prejudice to individual responsibility.”
Prosecutors League of the Philippines (PLP) President and Northern Mindanao Regional Prosecutor Jaime Umpa said pork barrel is a source of corruption. Umpa said over 1,000 prosecutors joined the million people march in Luneta. “We support the total abolition of the pork barrel because it was proven to be a source of corruption. While we are glad that there are calls for its abolition, the Filipino people should be vigilant in order that the pork barrel shall not be resurrected again by changing its name,” Umpa said.
Umpa found it ironic that that Congress has been complaining about lack of funds for vital programs, when some of them were giving money to fake non-governmental organizations (NGO) all this time.
Aside from PLP, the Chief Prosecutors Association (CIPROSA) also joined the mass action against pork barrel. The CIPROSA president, Manila's Chief Prosecutor Edward Togonon, noted that 60-70 percent of prosecutors have no halls of justice and have been bugging legislators and the Department of Budget and Management about this, but their repeated calls were ignored.
source: interaksyon.com
