Unarmed police vow maximum tolerance on Labor Day

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said police crowd dispersal management units would exercise “maximum tolerance” during the Labor Day rallies.

After the demolition of flea market stalls at Silverio Compound in Parañaque City turned ugly last week, the police are not second-guessing the outcome of protests on Labor Day, but they have picked up lessons from the incident.

Superintendent Danilo Pecaña, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office’s Public Information Office, said police guarding protests and rallies in Metro Manila would still employ maximum tolerance, but would not hesitate to use force if their backs were pushed against the wall.

“The police we will be deploying to the front lines to guard protesters will not be armed and will only be carrying clubs and shields. But we have police forces on standby with firearms, in case rallies go violent,” Pecaña said in a telephone interview.

Policewomen

In addition, a significant number of policewomen will be deployed to the front lines, a significant departure from the usual setup where beefy policemen are tasked with guarding the protesters.

“We are sending them to the front line because we expect many women to join the protests. Also, we have observed that there is less tension when women guard the front lines,” Pecaña said.

Augmentation force

Most of the police, who will be guarding the rallies, will come from the NCRPO’s Civil Disturbance Management unit and the Regional Public Safety Battalion.

“We also have augmentations coming in from the police force in Region 3 and Region 4,” Pecaña said.

Police will be sent particularly to guard critical buildings and places like the gate of the Chino Roces Bridge near Malacañang and the US Embassy, and known convergence points of protesters, such as Mabuhay Rotunda in Quezon City and in Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila.

Pecaña hoped that a repeat of the Silverio violence, where one resident was killed, would be avoided, and asked protesters to be vigilant against rogue elements in their groups.

“We cannot afford to have another Silverio-type incident,” he said.

Robredo appeal

In a statement, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said police  crowd dispersal management units would exercise “maximum tolerance” during the Labor Day rallies.

But at the same time Robredo warned rally leaders against undertaking violent demonstrations.

“While we recognize the Labor Day protesters’ right to air their grievances against the government, it is also their duty to maintain peace and order and to be vigilant against saboteurs who may infiltrate them and provoke and instigate violence among their ranks during the rallies,” Robredo said.

He said it would be unlawful for protesters to engage in violent demonstrations just to get their message across or for any political purposes. “We should maintain peace and order during the rallies so that at the end of the day, everybody goes home unharmed,” he added.

Highest alert

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has placed its forces on the highest alert nationwide to secure police camps and vital installations.

The PNP went on full alert in 11 out of 16 regions, including Metro Manila, a day ahead of the global observance of Labor Day today.

The PNP was taking extra security measures since “various threat groups might take advantage of the conduct of simultaneous rallies and demonstrations to air their grievances and demands,” said Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., the PNP spokesperson.

“All unit commanders are strictly reminded to secure all PNP camps and offices, vital installations, economic key points and places of convergence of people,” ordered PNP chief, Director General Nicanor Bartolome.

Cruz said police units in Regions 3, 4A, 4B, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 as well as the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Metro Manila, were placed on full alert as of

8 a.m. on Monday.

The PNP’s elite Special Action Force (SAF) was also placed on full alert.

Other units in Regions 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8 remain on heightened alert status, which is one notch lower.

Military mobilized

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), meanwhile, said it had mobilized “all available assets for intelligence and security operations” in support of the PNP during Labor Day and during the ongoing Asian Development Bank 45th annual meeting from May 2 to 5.

Apart from K9 and explosive and ordnance disposal teams, the military is also ready to deploy at least four civil disturbance management companies upon the request of the PNP.

The AFP said it would also focus on places like the LRT and MRT stations, bus terminals and shopping malls apart from rally sites.