Sona 2023: NCRPO will enforce gun ban, deploy over 22,000 cops
The National Capital Region Police Office (Photo from the NCRPO Public Information Office)
MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) will enforce a gun ban and deploy over 20,000 police officers for the second State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. this July.
The officers — totaling 22,081 cops — will be posted in the vicinity of the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, where the president will deliver his Sona, and 31 border control points within Metro Manila, Maj. Gen. Edgar Alan Okubo, NCRPO chief, said in a statement on Monday.
The NCRPO will also suspend permits to carry firearms outside residences in Metro Manila from 12:01 a.m. of July 24 until midnight of July 25.
Aside from over 22,081 officers, NCRPO said it would have a “strike force” ready to provide additional forces if needed during the Sona. This strike force will be composed of 4,405 officers from the Reactionary Standby Support Force of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and 500 individuals from volunteer groups.
Of the 22,081 police officers, 17,121 will come directly from NCRPO and 4,460 from various government agencies, including PNP regional support units.
According to the NCRPO, it will also mobilize its contingents from the Civil Disturbance Management in case demonstrators stage protests in prohibited areas to ensure public safety.
