MANILA, Philippines — With the midterm elections over, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has shifted its focus to securing President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22.
PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde said security preparations are ongoing to ensure that Duterte’s fourth SONA will be held peacefully.
“Our focus now is the conduct of the SONA this upcoming July,” he said yesterday.
The PNP has been holding competitions for their civil disturbance management units to hone their skills in dealing with protesters.
“‘This is one way of preparing our people for the SONA although as per experience, there has been no violent dispersal since our President came to office,” Albayalde said.
Maj. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said they will field at least 5,000 police officers to secure the SONA.
Eleazar said they are finalizing security preparations for Duterte’s SONA.
But he assured the public that the NCRPO has sufficient force to secure the event from saboteurs and terrorists.