The Quezon City government on Tuesday invited Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor to a dialogue on Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. to thresh out the details of his request to use a portion of the Quezon Memorial Circle for the political events of presidential bet Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
At a webinar conference, Mayor Joy Belmonte said “it is clear that no permit has (already) been granted.”
“We have invited him (Defensor) on Dec. 2,” she said.
“We are open to your request for the use of the Liwasang Aurora of the Quezon Memorial Circle Park on 6-9 December 2021,” Department of Public Order and Safety chief (ret.) Elmo San Diego said in a one-page letter to Defensor.
“However, before granting your request, we propose having a coordination meeting first to set ground rules to ensure the safety of park-goers the strict observance of health standards,” he added. Rio N. Araja
He said the meeting is “critical because we are still under alert level 2.”
The city government just wanted to avoid or mitigate the 3Cs – crowding, close contact and confined spaces.
According to San Diego, Liwasang Aurora is a child-friendly safe zone that is reserved for children and their families to enjoy quality time with one another.
He raised concern that many of the children who visit the park are unvaccinated.
“This is why we previously approved your event for the QCMC gymnasium, which is not a mere basketball court as you stated. This is a vast structure the size of two basketball courts and two
volleyball courts. With physical distancing, we can seat 3,000 people
comfortably. In fact, this is the same venue where the group of Senator Bong Go, Mayor Isko Moreno, the ACT Teachers party-list, the Anakpawis party-list and many other organizations were satisfied to hold their events recently,” he explained.
Defensor earlier accused the city government of rejecting his request to hold a peaceful rally inside the Quezon Memorial Circle.