The Presidential Security Group (PSG) is on top of making sure that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s maiden State of the Nation Address (SONA) will go off without any hitches.
In an interview with reporters, PSG commander Col. Ramon Zagala said they started preparing for the event last week and are coordinating with other security agencies to ensure that Marcos' inaugural SONA on July 25 will run smoothly.
"We are making the necessary coordination with other security agencies... the President will have a safe and no untoward incident that will happen during the SONA," he said Wednesday, July 20.
"These preparations are being planned since last week and we at PSG, we are prepared, in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP), so that everything will run from the time he arrives, he delivers the SONA, until he returns to Malacañang Palace," he added.
In addition, Zagala said they were already in the "final stages" of their preparation for the SONA.
While the top PSG official declined to disclose the number of personnel they will deploy on July 25, he assured the public that everyone attending the SONA would be protected.
"We assure you that we will deploy enough personnel to protect the President and all those attending," Zagala said.
"As you know, it is not just the President attending the SONA. There will be members of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and other guests that will be attending, which will be part of the protection that PSG will give during the SONA," he added.
Zagala likewise said that, so far, there is nothing that can derail Marcos' first SONA.
"What's important is we receive information, and all this information we receive, we consider important, and we verify," he said.
"For now, everything is okay. However, if there any new information, then we will act on it," he added.
In a Facebook post last week, the PSG shared that it started an inter-agency meeting to ensure the smooth flow of the event. The following government and security agencies attended the meeting:
- Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
- Philippine National Police (PNP)
- Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)
- Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)
- Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA)
- Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)
- Department of Health (DOH)
- National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA)