NCRPO on heightened alert for Aquino inauguration

MANILA, Philippines - The 16,000-strong National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) was put on heightened alert starting 8 a.m. yesterday as foreign dignitaries started arriving for the inaugural on Wednesday of president-elect Benigno Aquino III.

Deputy Director General Jefferson Soriano, the deputy chief for administration of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and head of Task Group “Panunumpa,” met yesterday with ranking police officials in Camp Crame to discuss security preparations for 12 heads of state, foreign secretaries and ministers who are arriving to represent their respective countries in Aquino’s oath-taking ceremony.

NCRPO chief Director Roberto Rosales said his men would be deployed to their respective assignments hours before Aquino’s inauguration at the Quirino Grandstand on Wednesday.

Rosales advised commuters to stay away from the area on Wednesday so they would not be inconvenienced by the heavy traffic as thousands of Aquino’s supporters, including movie personalities, are expected to crowd the place.

During heightened alert, all leaves and furloughs are cancelled and police officers ordered to report to duty.

After his oath taking at the grandstand, Aquino is expected to proceed to Malacañang Palace to preside over his first Cabinet meeting before proceeding to the Quezon City Memorial Circle to celebrate with his supporters.

The NCRPO, in close coordination with the Presidential Security Group (PSG), had prepared two routes Aquino would take and uniformed policemen would man all roads and intersections until he reaches his destinations.

Rosales said the number of policemen to be deployed to secure the routes was raised to 6,500 as additional policemen would be posted as “buffers” for arriving foreign dignitaries.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has furnished the PNP the list of 12 heads of state, foreign secretaries and ministers who would represent their respective countries in Aquino’s oath ta-king and Soriano vowed to secure them not only at the grandstand but also at the hotels where they are billeted.