PNP to deploy around 22K personnel for SONA 2024 security

Around 22,000 police personnel will be deployed to secure the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. scheduled on July 22, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Friday.

“Ang nakikita po natin last time po mga 22,000 na-deploy, ganun pa rin po. Unless we see may mga threats po, there will be more,” PNP chief Police General Rommel Marbil said in an ambush interview during a shootfest in Camp Karingal in Quezon City.

(What we saw last time was about 22,000 deployed, it's still the same. Unless we see some threats, there will be more deployment.)

“Right now, we don't see any threats but ang sinasabi ko, go signal ko, of course, you have to see yung inconvenience (but what I am saying is we should look at possible inconveniences),” he added.

Aside from threats, Marbil also noted that heavy traffic is among the usual concerns during the day of the SONA. For him, heavy traffic can be attributed to too strict security as well as the volume of police deployment and protesters.

Maximum tolerance

Meanwhile, Marbil said the PNP will provide maximum tolerance to the protesters but he appealed to them to make sure not to cause any inconveniences to the public.

“Ang sabi ko lang naman you can go out for a protest but make sure hindi naman po kayo nagkakaroon ng inconvenience. Kawawa rin naman po yung mga tao. That's the biggest problem po talaga yung traffic created by sobrang deployment din ng pulis and of course mga raliyista,” he said.

(I'm just saying you can go out for a protest but make sure you don't cause inconvenience. The people will be greatly affected. Traffic is the biggest problem, which is caused by too much deployment of the police and rallyists.)

Marcos earlier instructed the House of Representatives to accommodate everyone who wants to attend his SONA.

“I had a chit-chat with the President yesterday and I said there are a lot of people who would like to attend this SONA this July 22nd. And he said to me, 'Accommodate all of them,'” House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said.

He said more than 2,000 individuals from the government, the private sector, and non-government organizations have signified their desire to attend the SONA.

But the seating capacity of the session hall is 2,000 only. The House of Representatives will add seats in the session hall and will open several function rooms to accommodate guests.

As a security measure, the House of Representatives will be locked down starting July 19, the Friday before the SONA. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News