The Philippine National Police (PNP) is dissuading anti-government protesters from holding a rally for the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Marcos Jr. at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City on Monday, July 22.
Citing similar situations in previous SONAs, PNP chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil said that the staging of rallies near the Batasang Pambansa Complex will only contribute to bad traffic situation.
“There are individuals applying at the local government units for a permit to conduct rally. I told them ‘Let’s just have a consultation first.’ It’s because anytime you can have a rally but the inconvenience that you will produce on the day of SONA is unacceptable,” Marbil said in a televised pre-SONA report on Friday, July 19.
“Those rallies cause not only a five-minute traffic. It will take an hour or two. Right now, there are many ongoing road projects in EDSA and the roads are getting smaller. If you hold a protest, just imagine the terrible inconvenience it will cause,” he added.
The PNP is expecting at least 5,000 anti-government protesters on the day of SONA, including participants of the “Hakbang ng Maisug” rally supported by former president Rodrigo Duterte and his supporters.
As part of the PNP’s security preparations, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) spearheaded the send-off of troops who will be assigned to ensure the safe and peaceful conduct of the upcoming SONA.
NCRPO director Police Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said that more than 23,000 security and traffic personnel will be deployed for the SONA.
They will come from the NCRPO, Central Luzon Regional Police Office (PRO-3), Calabarzon Police Regional Office (PRO-4A) and augmentation forces from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and Land Transportation Office (LTO).
“It’s all systems go and we still have three days to go so we are continuously ironing out all our security preparations,” Nartatez said.
Nartatez said they were preparing to contain a Maisug rally which will be held at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on Saturday, July 20.
“First, they want to hold their protest at the People Power Monument but they were not allowed to they opted to stage it at the Liwasang Bonifacio on Saturday. That will be tomorrow,” he said.
Nartatez said that it’s up to the concerned local government units (LGUs), particularly the Quezon City LGU, if they will allow protesters near the Batasang Pambansa Complex including along Commonwealth Avenue.
What’s clear right now is that the IBP Road leading to the Batasang Pambansa Complex will be closed on Monday for security purposes.
Meanwhile, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said that the police organization suggested to the Quezon City LGU that pro-administration rallyists be allowed to gather and stage a program around Tandang Sora Avenue, a few blocks from the Batasang Pambansa Complex.
‘No security threat’
Meanwhile, the PNP said that it has not monitored any security threat in relation to the upcoming SONA but the police force remains on alert.
“We have not monitored any threat but we make sure that we have to factor in as if there is one. We should not be relaxed. But we don’t foresee any threat right now that can stop the SONA of the President,” Marbil said.
The PNP will implement the suspension of the Permit to Carry Firearms Outside Residence (PTCFOR) from Saturday, July 20, to Monday, July 22, in the entire Metro Manila.