Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), lauded police commanders and ground personnel, saying all sacrifices from the planning stage to implementation paid off with a generally peaceful 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Marcos.

More than 21,000 policemen were tapped to secure the SONA and Metro Manila police chief Maj. Gen. Anthony Aberin personally supervised the security implementation since the weekend.

Nartatez said that based on the monitoring, there were no significant incident that directly affected the conduct of SONA at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City where Marcos delivered his speech for one hour and 30 minutes.

“Our sacrifices from planning to the implementation of security measures up to the last hours paid off and this would have not happened without the dedication and hard work not only of our personnel but also of our partners from other agencies,” said Nartatez who conducted inspections in some areas where policemen were deployed.

“The event started and ended peacefully, with no recorded untoward or violent incident. This peaceful conduct of SONA allowed all our kababayan to focus on the report of the President regarding the current state of our country,” he added.

He attributed the efficient and effective SONA security to the security preparations of policemen, and personnel from other government agencies like the military and Coast Guard for security, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the local government unit for traffic management and the Bureau of Fire Protection and other agencies for medical and other security and safety-related concerns.

Police personnel secured key government installations and major thoroughfares, assisted in traffic management, and coordinated with partner agencies to ensure the orderly conduct of the event.

“Let me express my gratitude and commendation to all police units and personnel who took part in ensuring that this year’s SONA is conducted peacefully and orderly,” PGEN Nartatez said.

He also commended the groups that held rallies and other activities for their cooperation and for complying with the rules and regulations enforced by law enforcement personnel and local officials.

“Protest actions conducted by various cause-oriented groups have been carried out orderly and we thank every participant of these demonstrations for the respect and cooperation that they manifested during their activities,” Nartatez said.

He said the successful security operations during the SONA should serve as a reminder that effective law enforcement is anchored on thorough preparation, discipline and the cooperation of the public.

IEDs

Nartatez said they are now conducting investigation to identify those behind the explosion of an improvised explosive device in front of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and another IED found near the Senate.

And based on the initial assessment, he said the midnight IED blast near the DOJ was connected to the IED found near the Senate at around 8 1.m.

Nartatez expressed confidence that the PNP and other law enforcement agencies will get those behind.

Aberinl for is part, said they are exhausting all measures to solve the case, “We are conducting back-tracking of CCTV footages along the area to get those involved.”

Arrests

Aberin also defended the arrest of 51 people for various offenses that include vandalism.

Aside from vandalism those arrested violated the Batas Pambansa 880, or the Public Assembly Act, and local ordinance relating to covering face when entering public or private establishments or when stopped on public roads and crime prone areas.

“They were arrested because of the violations committed,” said Aberin.