Security, crowd concerns delaying decision on Marcos inauguration venue —incoming PCOO chief

Incoming Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) chief Trixie Cruz-Angeles on Thursday cited security and crowd concerns among the reasons for the delay in picking a venue for the inauguration of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Interviewed on GMA News’ Unang Balita, Angeles said there is still no final decision yet on the location of Marcos’ inauguration.

“Wala pa rin po. As you know, there are many levels of decision-making din po dyan, so security concerns, crowd concerns, so naiintindihan namin kung bakit natatagalan,” she said.

(There is still no final decision. As you know, there are many levels of  decision-making for that, so security concerns, crowd concerns, so we understand the delay.)

Angeles assured the public that they will immediately announce the venue once they find out.

On Wednesday, Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Police Lieutenant General Vicente Danao Jr. said Marcos' inauguration on June 30 will be held either in the Ilocos Region or in Manila

“Yung kay Sir Bongbong naman po, I think it will be either Ilocos or dito po sa area ng Manila, so we are still finalizing kung saan po yung exact location para po malatag ang ating security measures,” he said.

(As for Sir Bongbong, I think it will be either in Ilocos or here in the area of Manila, so we are still finalizing the exact location so we can lay out our security measures.)

The Marcos family hails from Ilocos Norte.

Earlier, Marcos’ sister, Senator Imee Marcos, said her brother is considering outdoor historical sites like the Quirino Grandstand, Fort Santiago, and the National Museum for his inauguration.

“Ang number one criteria sana ay outdoor para hindi na ma-COVID. Kasi we don't want to expose people because there seems to be an uptick in infections,” she said.

(What we want is for it to be held outdoors because we don’t want to expose people to COVID19 as there seems to be an uptick in infections.) — RSJ, GMA News