Largest march against illegal drugs makes it to Guinness record
The Philippines have no records to break since this is the first time any country has organized an event like this, but Saturday’s march against illegal drugs makes Guinness record as more than 600,000 people in red shirts swarmed the stretch of Roxas Boulevard in Manila.
A bid to set a record as the world’s first and biggest anti-drugs rally was witnessed by Guinness adjudications executive Italian national Lucia Sinigagliesi and their digital content manager Denise Anlander.
The event which was dubbed as the “Grand Bida March” was led by Batang Iwas Droga (BIDA) Foundation Inc. and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) as part of a campaign to educate grade school students on the dangers of illegal drugs.
The march began at 1 PM from the grounds of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, where they proceeded to the Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta. There, a program was held, including a free concert which featured some of the country’s hottest bands and young stars.
Guinness officials said that the actual figure of the participants isn’t determined yet, but the crowd seemed to pass the minimum requirement of 100,000. The exact numbers will be verified within one week.
Josephine Evangelista, BIDA corporate secretary said, they were happy with the turnout and said that the event is all about creating awareness. “We want to grab the public’s attention not only locally but in a global scale. The march is a massive event in which our school children will play a vital role in leading a battle cry against illegal drugs. Our children want to win this war and this their venue.”
But Guinness record or not, the event should remind us that we should always be on the lookout for our kids. We should make them understand the dangers of illegal drugs, and always be wary of their activities.
Tags: anti-drug rally, Batang Iwas Droga, event, Grand Bida March, Guinness, kids, Manila event, new world record, Pagcor, school children, youth
The intent of this Rally is good but I saw from the news that many who join the event were stranded due to miscommunications among the organizers of the said event!
Espie’s last blog post..Tibok-Tibok (Maja Blanca)
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it is not surprising, with an event as big as that… somehow, it escaped the media… or was it not just disclosed?
anyway, just like you said, the intention was good
thanks!
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I think this is a great step for Filipinos…I do hope that more and more concerned citizen/organization will step up in keeping our country safe from drugs.
No country will ever be safe from drugs but educating the children about the dangers of it is one way we can prevent them in trying it out.
Jade’s last blog post..Designing our House
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this is another record, or i must say not really to be cynical, but one of our country’s obssession of being in the guinness…
hope this one would really become an advocacy not just to get a record
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@ Jade, I sure hope it creates awareness on the Filipino people.
@ elmot, BINGO! let’s just pray that this is not just for show
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