Manila Burial Turns Into Political Protest
About 1,500 students and slum dwellers turned a funeral procession Tuesday into a protest march against the use of Philippine marines to back up the demolition of Manila shantytowns.
They joined a funeral cortege that stopped briefly outside the presidential palace before going on to a cemetery to bury Segundino Sanchez, 17, a son of a squatter couple.
Sanchez was one of two people killed July 23 when government demolition crews backed by marines moved in to destroy squatter homes. The other victim, a 12-year-old girl, was buried Sunday.
Newspapers said the squatters were on an estate owned by the family of Greggy Araneta, son-in-law of President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
Soldiers backed by fire trucks and water cannon watched the marchers as they passed the palace Tuesday. There were no incidents.
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