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| Google translate: Pinoy, Free and Responsible New Hero |
The real reason is that their stubborn insistence to convene the 8 June happening at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza Singapore was rejected by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) due to “public order and safety issues”. With the horrors of the Little India fiasco still fresh on their minds, the SPF has learnt a lesson or two. Our nice policemen did try to helpfully suggest holding the big bash at other places, such as Suntec City or Hong Lim Park, which they did make do with in 2011 & 2013 (Hong Lim) and 2012 (Suntec). Last we heard, the anti-pink party planned for the Padang was not shifted to either venue.
The PIDCS organisers probably thought that with the ringing endorsement of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (‘bigots’ and ‘trolls’) and Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin ('repulsive'), the SPF would surely cave in to their demands. Sorry, guys, this is Singapore, not the Philippines. They may have marched down Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) and disrupted the main traffic artery in Metro Manila, but we have laws against illegal gatherings exceeding 5 in number, which happened to be revised to 1 person not too long ago. Yes, Virginia, a single person can be deemed an illegal assembly according to the law in Singapore.
Curiously, the actual date of the Philippine independence day is a subject of contention. It was President Diosdado Macapagal who signed the executive order Republic Act No. 4166 in August 1964 that "moved" the Philippines's independence day from 4 July 1946 to 12 June 1898, the year when General Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine "independence" over the dead bodies of Katipunan founder, Andres Bonifacio, his brothers and their followers. Aguinaldo's goons murdered these freedom fighters who founded the Katipunan secret society of Filipino rebels on July 7, 1892 to fight the Spanish colonization. 1946 was the year when the Philippine-American War ended, and the US granted independence to the Philippines on 4 July 1946 through the Treaty of Manila.
So there's nothing really special about 8 June that warrants kicking a fuss over. It's just another occasion for people like West Coast GRC Member of Parliament Arthur Fong to castigate Singaporeans and canonise the Philippines I-Day event as a “shot across the bow” that should “prompt Singaporeans to examine themselves”. And remind us of his party's pro-alien sympathies.