Protesters can hold SONA rally inside UP campus – PNP

July 26, 2020

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday said protesters can conduct their activities inside the University of the Philippines' (UP) campus for President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

“We respect their (UP) academic freedom,” Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac, PNP spokesperson, said in a radio interview.

“We allowed them (inside the campus) and in fact, there is an order from the higher office to give them assistance and take care of all the teenagers who will conduct protests in the UP campus,” he added.

Banac said their security preparation is now ready for Monday’s SONA and they are on heightened alert.

“As of now, we have not received any threat and we continue to maintain our peace and order...we assured the public that our peace and order situation right now is stable and there is a decrease in crimes committed,” he said.

Earlier, the PNP said around 7,500 cops will be deployed for SONA.

Asked about the Liwasang Diokno, which is a freedom park protected by Batasang Pambansa Blg. 880, the police official said the area is still considered as a public space.

“This is still a public place and there is a health concern if they will use the area for their protest. So it is better to just conduct it inside the campus… If you can recall, last June 12, they conducted their protest there and we saw that they conduct it orderly,” Banac said.

He reminded the organizers to make sure that all the attendees will follow minimum health protocols such as wearing of face masks and observance of physical distancing.

“It’s their responsibility to make sure that everyone is following the health protocols and health standards. Our PNP officers will just be outside and we will not meddle with them because we respect their academic freedom… we will maintain our distance,” he said.

Banac on Saturday said the no permit, no rally will remain and they can arrest protesters who will fail to comply with the protocols imposed by the government.

“We will be exercising maximum tolerance... If we were not able to see any indication of compliance, the PNP will be forced to arrest them because of the local ordinance implemented by the local government unit," he said.

Protest action will not be allowed within Commonwealth Avenue.

Last Friday, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, Major General Debold Sinas presented their plans for SONA such as the area where protesters will be allowed and the approved time of protest.

However, he said they received a memorandum from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) reminding local government units (LGU) that mass gatherings are prohibited due to COVID-19 threat. Ella Dionisio/DMS