THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is expecting over 10,000 protesters during the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, July 23, PNP chief Oscar Albayalde said.
Albayalde said just like Duterte’s previous SONA, there would be no barbed wires and container vans which are being used by the previous administration, especially during such occasion, as a defense in case protesters becomes unruly.
“Wala pa rin naman tayo barikada (or) container vans because nagkaroon naman ng ugnayan yan between the PNP and the militant sector and I think over the years napakita naman, hindi sila naging magulo so far and I hope ngayong taon ito maging maayos ulit gaya ng mga nakaraan taon,” he said.
(We do not have barricade or container vans because there's communication between the PNP and militant sector and I think over the years, they did not become unruly and I hope this year will be the same last year.)
Albayalde said militant group leaders has promised they will police their ranks and ensured they will hold their programs and picket protest in an peaceful and orderly manner.
He said the over 6,000 policemen who will be deployed to ensure the security and peace and order during the SONA were reminded to impose maximum tolerance.
The policemen will be augmented by at least 600 soldiers who will be fielded by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), personnel from the PNP-Special Action Force, the force multipliers from the barangay and the Quezon City Local Government as well as from the non-government organization.
“Basically kung talagang magulo sila that's one and hindi natin alam kung ano saloobin nila pero mukhang hindi naman mangyayari ‘yun not unless na merong mag infiltrate sa grupo nila. Yun lang naman ang iniiwasan natin dito at ibibigay naman natin ang gusto nila hangga’t kaya natin," he said.
(Basically, if they will break the peace and order that's one and we do not know their feelings but it would not happen unless somebody in the group may infiltrate. That's what we avoid here and we give what they want if we can.)
Albayalde said they are yet to monitor any possible threat against the event but intelligence and information gathering continues.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Secretary General Renato Reyes said among the issues they will be tackling are the Charter Change, contractualization in the labor sector, the Train law and the prevalent killing amid the government’s war on drugs.
However, Reyes said it is no longer advisable for Duterte to face the protesters now due to the pile of promises he failed to address.
“It's for the best that the president would not go out to meet SONA protesters. The circumstances today are very much different from last year. Just the same, the protests will be peaceful and well-organized. We do not forsee any untoward incidents coming from the groups,” he said.
Right after his speech in 2017, Duterte faced the angry-protest holding program outside the Batasan complex.
Albayalde, who was then the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, said what Duterte has done is unexpected and had become a security “nightmare” for them.
However, he said for this year, they are prepared for any eventualities.
Meanwhile, in an interview in Camp Crame on Saturday, July 21, Special Assistant Secretary to the President Bong Go said such event will no longer happen on Monday, July 23.
“Hindi na mangyayari ‘yung nangyari nung nakaraang taon na hinarap n’ya (ang mga protesters). Ikaw gusto mo pa bang humarap doon sa, nakita n’yo naman mga plano nila. Gusto mo pa bang humarap doon kung susunugin ‘yung mukha mo?” he said.
(What happened last year when he faced them (the protesters) will not happen again. Would you like to face them if they set your face on fire?) (SunStar Philippines)