PNP: 12K personnel to be deployed for SONA

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said that around 12,000 personnel will be deployed for the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on July 28.

“Around 12,000 personnel are being deployed at iba pang law enforcement agencies and civilian support units para sa activity na ito sa House of Representatives,” PNP chief Police General Nicolas Torre III said in a briefing.

Torre said that the PNP will deploy an advance team on July 26 while full deployment will take place on July 27 until the early hours of July 28.

He clarified that no threats have been monitored so far.

“Wala tayong namo-monitor na threat. Natural lang ‘yang mga usual na intelligence estimate natin. Normal naman, usual lang. Ang pinaka threat natin ngayon weather. Hopefully mag clear up ang weather so mas maganda ang ating deployment,” he said.

(We are not monitoring any threat. Those are just our usual intelligence estimates. It’s normal, just the usual. Our main threat right now is the weather. Hopefully, the weather clears up so our deployment will be better.)

Meanwhile, Torre said that the PNP will consult the Department of the Interior and Local Government regarding a gun ban.

When asked if the burning of effigies will be allowed during SONA, Torre said the PNP will play it by ear, but expressed hope that this will not take place.??

“Pero sana ‘wag naman dahil at the end of the day kasi freedom of expression nga, eh alam naman ng mga tao na ‘yan na according to the environmental law ay bawal ho ‘yan. Mag susunog pa ng kung ano-ano, may kasama pa minsan— may tires pa minsan,” he said.

(But hopefully not. At the end of the day, it’s freedom of expression, but people already know that according to environmental law, that’s prohibited. Burning various things, sometimes even including tires.)

“I would suggest ihingi nila ng permit sa local government unit or sa appropriate agency sa DENR na mag sunog sila dyan sa kalsada,” he added.

(I would suggest that they request a permit from the local government unit or from the appropriate agency like the DENR to be allowed to burn effigies on the street.)

However, he said that possible arrests will still depend on the situation. —VAL, GMA Integrated News