The Police Regional Office Negros Island Region (PRO NIR) is on heightened alert to ensure peace and order as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) at 4 p.m. Monday, July 27.
PRO NIR announced on Sunday that nearly 600 personnel will be mobilized across the Negros Island Region for the SONA.
They will be over and above PRO NIR’s regular deployment to strengthen security measures, maintain public order, and ensure the safety of the public during the SONA, it said.
About 5,000 protesters are expected to join the Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance (TAMA NA) – Negros coalition in a march-rally from the Provincial Capitol Park and Lagoon to the Bacolod City Government Center replica at the public plaza Monday afternoon, Noly Rosales, Bayan Muna Negros secretary-general, said.
Police personnel will be strategically positioned throughout the region to sustain police operational readiness, intensify monitoring efforts, and ensure an immediate response to any security concern that may arise in connection with the event, the PRO NIR said.
All PRO NIR units have been placed on alert, while close coordination has been established with partner agencies, force multipliers, and local government units to guarantee a unified and effective security effort before, during, and after the event.
BGen. Romano Cardiño said the safety and security of every Negrense remain the organization’s foremost priority throughout the national event.
“PRO NIR stands fully prepared to ensure that the Fifth State of the Nation Address is conducted in a peaceful, orderly, and secure environment. We respect and uphold every citizen’s constitutional right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, and we remain committed to protecting those rights,” he said.
“At the same time, we call on everyone to exercise these freedoms responsibly and within the bounds of the law,” he added.
Meanwhile, Juliana Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said she hopes the President in his SONA will discuss the government’s aid to businesses due to erratic fuel prices, maybe in the form of tax rebates.
“I also wish for a strong statement from the President to the Senate for it to be objective and rational in the handling of the impeachment trial, and I pray for reforms in the government and the continuous investigation of anomalies in flood control projects,” she added.*
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