PNP urges UP admin to police ranks of protesters
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has advised the administration of the University of the Philippines (UP) to ensure that all those holding protest actions in its Diliman Campus in Quezon City will observe the minimum health safety protocols such as the wearing of face masks and physical distancing.
PNP chief Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa said all the police could do is to wait for any request assistance to augment the UP Police force in the implementation of the quarantine rules during the protest action for Duterte’s SONA on Monday afternoon.
Based on the PNP security plan for the 5th State of the Nation Address of President Duterte, all protesters are banned from holding rallies on Commonwealth Avenue which is the traditional protest ground for every SONA.
Instead, protesters are advised to go to UP Diliman Campus.
UP campuses are off-limits to government law enforcers unless the school administration will request for such.
“Under the UP Charter, the police can only come if they will request for such. That's why I said during the briefing that we will leave it up to the chartered institution like UP to police their ranks because they have their own security force. So we leave it to them,” said Gamboa.
“But the PNP will always be ready to augment them should it be necessary. So for certain observance of protocols, we leave it up to the UP authorities to observe,” he added.
Gamboa insisted that the conduct of protest actions is prohibited based on the rules of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), saying it violates the mass gathering policy which only allows a maximum of 10 people.
“Once you conglomerate and you number to 10, no more questions asked, we will arrest you,” said Gamboa.
The PNP chief said that he had already instructed all anti-riot cops to provide a space where all the arrested violators will be taken to process the payment of fines. He said the QC government should also send a representative of its Treasurer’s Office for the acceptance of the fine that will be paid by the arrested violators.
Based on the ordinance of the Quezon City local government, Gamboa said the fine ranges from P1,000 to P1,500.
The move, according to Gamboa, is to prevent a scenario wherein the arrested protesters will be taken to the police station and will be jailed even for a few hours. Once on the spot payment of fine becomes available, he said this will prevent arrested protesters from being jailed.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), on the other hand, has already prepared mobile detention facilities for the protesters who will be arrested.