NCRPO sees ‘peaceful’ Metro Manila as SONA nears

MANILA, Philippines — The peace and order situation in Metro Manila will continue to be “peaceful and manageable” until President Marcos delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA) next month as the National Capital Region Police Office maintains a heightened alert status, an official of the NCRPO said yesterday.

“Sa ngayon, nakikita natin na generally peaceful and manageable ang ating peace and order situation at inaasahan natin na magtatagal ito hanggang sa araw ng SONA ng ating Pangulo (So far, we see that our peace and order situation is generally peaceful and manageable and we expect this to continue until the day of our President’s SONA),” NCRPO spokesman Lt. Col. Luisito Andaya Jr. said.

He said the NCRPO continues to monitor the situation even though it has not received reports of any SONA-related threats.

According to Andaya, the NCRPO declared a heightened alert status and started deploying personnel in April as part of its “intensified police visibility.”

The NCRPO will deploy nearly 23,000 police officers to secure the SONA, which will be held at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City on July 24.

It will deploy a mobile command center and drones equipped with facial recognition capabilities to monitor the situation on the ground.

The NCRPO will also set up border control points across Metro Manila and enforce a “no fly/no drone” zone over the Batasan complex.

Andaya also said the police force has been instructed to enforce maximum tolerance and to respect human rights, particularly the freedom of speech, of those who wish to participate in SONA rallies and demonstrations.