President Benigno Aquino & Uncle Sam 24 July 2012 Quezon City

Inquirer News

It was a familiar sight this time of year: Students and farmers burning effigies of President Benigno Aquino and Uncle Sam. But they were stopped by police from getting close to the Batasang Pambansa complex to denounce the government’s alleged failure to improve the plight of workers, triggering a brief melee that left scores injured.

Fire trucks, steel barricades and a 6,000-strong police force blocked the protesters led by the leftist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Commonwealth Avenue in front of Ever Gotesco mall about 2 kilometers from the Congress building, where the President delivered his annual State of the Nation Address (Sona).