The National Capital Region Police Office stayed mum on reported threats against the Senate but said it remained on heightened alert as political tension continued to grip the chamber.
NCRPO spokesperson Hazel Asilo said the police office would defer to statements from Senate security officials and higher headquarters on the supposed threats.
Still, Asilo said NCRPO was keeping close watch on developments around the Senate and was prepared to step in if additional security support was needed.
She said 239 police officers and 70 volunteers had already been deployed around the Senate area as part of security measures.
The added security presence came as the Senate remained caught in a leadership standoff following recent political upheavals in the upper chamber.
Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian earlier said the Senate had received intelligence reports about possible threats that could take place in the chamber.
Gatchalian said some of the information came from the National Bureau of Investigation, though details on the nature of the supposed threats were not immediately disclosed.
The security concerns surfaced after Gatchalian was elected Senate president pro tempore on June 3 following a two-day impasse, when the bloc of then Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano refused to attend session in protest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s arrest on plunder charges linked to the flood control scandal.
