By Tony Consing
The storm of protesters against the STL who marched that day to the convention center represented a cross-section of the society from the religious groups to the peasants and NGOs sectors.
A small pro-STL crowd plucked out from the barangays by some SP members and the presence of familiar faces from the “KRISTO” or “bet-takers” club at the local cockpit had paled in comparison to nearly two thousand anti-STL rallyists determined to stop the SP from approving a new resolution for the passage of the STL.
There were some instances that tension arose in the gathering when the opposing groups heckled at each other.
The anti-STL rallyists climaxed with the reading of the strongly-worded manifesto from the province’s two congressmen, Rep. Lalo Matugas and Rep. Jun Romarate, condemning the STL operation in the province.
The Matugas-Romarate manifesto which was read by radio commentator Manny Kong was cheered by the rallyists who found a comrade in the two congressmen.
The anti-STL protesters principally included religious leaders from the catholic sector headed by Bishop Antonietto Cabahug, the Protestants group, the Muslims, the Baptists and other NGOs.
The angry crowd of demonstrators which included leaders from the professional sectors, such as lawyers, in the city also condemned the STL operation.
The demonstrators said the STL should not be given any priority by the provincial government in this time of financial crisis as this would be counter-productive to our people and would surely result to bigger financial woes and economic dislocations.
An alleged former Barbers henchman in the 90’s reportedly introduced the STL operation recently to the province and the same was backed up by the Barbers administration and by some local board members.
The Sangguniang Panglalawigan ended the supposed public hearing saying they will issue a resolution after the fiesta time in Surigao City.
However, there were reports the Barbers administration was backing out of the STL plan – apparently afraid of the backlash of people power.
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