National Capital Region Police Office spokesperson Maj. Hazel Asilo. Photo courtesy of PNA.
With President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (PBBM)’s upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) set on July 27, some 20,000 police personnel will be tapped to provide security for the chief executive, according to the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).
In a press briefing, NCRPO spokesperson Major Hazel Asilo told reporters that the said number is just the initial (deployment), which includes personnel they are going to borrow from other regions.
Asilo disclosed that the NCRPO is in the process of crafting security measures for the SoNA, adding they are identifying key areas where groups might hold protests: “We’re going to deploy CDM (Civil Disturbance Management) personnel to these areas in case there will be rallies.”
Regarding queries on how or where the policemen will be deployed, she clarified that the uniformed cops will not only be deployed in the vicinity of the Batasang Pambansa complex but for the entire Metro Manila area.
“This will include policemen who will be deployed in the barangays, doing anti-criminal and other (operations),” she explained.
Meanwhile, Asilo also noted that the NCRPO is still in the process of monitoring groups who are planning to secure permits to hold rallies during the President’s fifth SONA: “We are still checking if there will be groups that will secure (rally) permits. As of now, we have not monitored any.”
Likewise asked if they have monitored any threat, she asserted that they have yet to any monitor threat from their intelligence units.
