THE number of policemen who will be deployed to secure President Marcos Jr’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28 has been increased to at least 15,000 from 12,000.
Maj. Hazel Asilo, spokesperson of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said at the “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” public briefing yesterday the PNP is looking into “potential security threats from lawless elements,” protest actions, civil disturbances and even the possibility of sabotage or disruption at VIP routes and at the “activity area.”
“We are assessing these based on the current security landscape of Metro Manila to ensure that we will come up with the correct deployment and contingency plans,” said Asilo.
She said the NCRPO “will deploy 15,076 policemen and they will focus on the Batasan complex.”
The Batasan complex in Quezon City houses the House of Representatives where the yearly SONA is held.
Asilo said the policemen will also secure routes of VIPs attending the SONA, and those deployed to protest areas will handle for crowd control, media zones, medical evacuation points, and border control points, among others.
On Tuesday, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said 12,000 policemen will be deployed for the SONA but the number may increase, depending on the need.
Some 23,000 policemen secured last year’s SONA. While the event was marked by protests staged by around 3,000 demonstrators, the PNP described last year’s SONA as “generally peaceful.”
Asilo said the NCRPO is conducting an “honest to goodness” threat assessment in response to the directive of PNP chief Gen. Nicanor Torre III.
“This includes the conduct of ang intelligence fusion meeting, validation of information, and site inspection of identified critical areas,” she said.
“The objective is to identify threats to security and neutralize these (threats) through preemptive operations at focused law enforcement activities,” she added.
Asilo appealed to the public for cooperation of the public to ensure that the president’s fourth SONA will be orderly and peaceful.
“If you see suspicious items or activities, report it to the nearest police station or to our hotlines,” she said.
