PSG re-routes Malacañang traffic

Following the holding of a special Mass by opposition leaders at a church in Malacañang last Monday, the Presidential Security Group (PSG) has re-routed traffic inside the complex in an apparent move to prevent similar incidents.

People going to the Malacañang Authentication Office beside the San Miguel Church, where the opposition held their Mass, have also been barred from passing through the complex.

The church is located at the other end of J.P. Laurel just outside the Palace gate near Ayala Bridge.

Instead of passing through the entire stretch of J.P. Laurel from Nagtahan Bridge, motorists were advised to take a roundabout route, passing through Arlegui street and coming out at the other side of the complex just outside the gate near Ayala Bridge.

A Palace official said hundreds of people, mostly those planning to go abroad, flock to the said office to have their documents authenticated.

Opposition figures, led by former Sen. Ernesto Maceda, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito, and former Sen. Francisco Tatad, held a special Mass last Monday afternoon at the San Miguel Church, which is just about 200 meters away from the Palace itself. The arrival of the group took the PSG by surprise.

Dozens of fully-armed PSG men rushed to the gate closest to the church even as anti-riot police waited nearby.

Sotto said they plan to hold Masses instead of rallies inside Malacañang, possibly to include St. Jude’s Church near Nagtahan Bridge to get their message across to President Arroyo.

Bunye said he was not aware of the new traffic re-routing inside the complex, but saw nothing wrong with the opposition’s holding Masses near the Palace "for as long they don’t interrupt other people from going about their business and their jobs."

"As we have said, this is a free country. This is a form of freedom of expression," he said. "But I’m just puzzled because some of them do not appear to be churchgoers."