The Philippine National Police (PNP) has suspended the privilege of gun owners to carry their firearms outside their houses in Metro Manila as part of the security measures for the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Marcos.
The SONA will be held at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on July 22 and based on the approved recommendation in the PNP, the suspension of the Permit to Carry Firearms Outside Residence (PTCFOR) will be from 12:01 a.m. on July 20 to until 12 midnight of July 22 in the National Capital Region.
"This suspension is a precautionary measure to ensure public safety and security during the event,” the PNP advisory read.
Over 22,000 policemen will be deployed to secure the SONA, with thousands more as augmentation from various government agencies.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), for instance, will deploy more than 1,300 of its personnel to help implement the traffic management plan approved by the agency for the SONA.
On Tuesday, July 16, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil led the inter-agency coordination for the implementation of the final security plan for Marcos’s third SONA.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said simulation exercises are continuously being done, as well as contingency planning.
The send off of policemen for SONA duties, she said, will be done on July 19, Friday.
“As of today (Thursday), we have not monitored any serious threat to disturb the conduct of SONA,” said Fajardo.
Part of the security preparations, according to Fajardo, is the expected conduct of protest actions.
She then appealed to protest organizers to follow the law and police their own ranks if their rally would be approved by the Quezon City local government unit.