Duterte speaks behind bullet proof glass amid talks of being in NPA ‘hit list’

In this file photo, President Rodrigo Duterte seems to poke the bulletproof glass panel set up before him during one of his speeches. – On Friday, December 20, 2019, Duterte once again speaks behind the bulletproof glass panel during the 1st Presidential Silent Drill Competition at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila after the national security adviser earlier claimed that the President is allegedly included in the so-called hit list of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army. Screengrab from RTVM video

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday spoke with a bulletproof glass panel set up before him during the 1st Presidential Silent Drill Competition at the Quirino Grandstand.

This came after the national security adviser claimed that Duterte was allegedly included in the so-called hit list of communist rebels.

PSG personnel surround the President on stage while a bulletproof glass panel is being readied for his speech. This is after security officials earlier revealed that the President is on the hitlist of communist rebels. | @JMAurelioINQ pic.twitter.com/1lEOX5x3fa

— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) December 20, 2019

But the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chair Joma Sison said Duterte’s alleged inclusion in the hit list is just a “malicious psywar” on the part of the government.

In a press briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday, Presidential Security Group Commander Brig. Gen. Jose Eriel Niembra admitted they have intensified security for Duterte following threats from the communist New People’s Army (NPA), the CPP’s armed wing, which will mark its 50th anniversary on December 26.

He also said that Duterte is in the hit list, not only of NPA but by drug lords and other crime syndicates.

Duterte had used the glass panel in his previous speeches.

Niembra had explained that they put up the glass panel to ensure the President’s safety especially in “open areas.”

Edited by KGA