After the initial post-march program, people were asked to leave the stage area and pay for entrance so they could come back in. My group of friends were already inside one of the bars when people in the outdoor tables were shooed out so were not aware of that happening.
I would like to congratulate whoever thought of thst procedure for driving away a lot of march participants away from Malate. It’s the perfect way to throw cold water on a crowd that was likely still high and giddy from the Pride March. They will definitely know how the after-party organizers felt about the march participants.
A more troubling aspect of it was how there was hardly any mention that the party area will be charging for entrance in most of the Pride March advertisements. Was that an honest lapse among the organizers? People probably would not have minded paying for an entrance fee if it was mentioned earlier. At the very least, it would not have come as a nasty surprise for those who stayed for the after-party.
Image source: Karapatan ng LGBT, ipinagdiwang sa Pride March