Palace orders maximum security for Marcos after Sona day explosion

This report is part of Inquirer’s Sona 2026 coverage. Follow our live page for real-time updates.

MANILA, Philippines — Security for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should always remain at the highest level following an explosion that coincided with the president’s fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona), according to Malacañang.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said the president’s protection should not depend on whether a security incident had occurred.

“Whether there is an explosion or not, the president’s protection should always be at the maximum level,” Castro told reporters in Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City where Marcos will deliver his Sona before lawmakers.

READ: Sona 2026 Live Updates: President Marcos’ State of the Nation Address

Asked if security would be tightened after the explosion, Castro said she could not speak on behalf of the Philippine National Police (PNP), but stressed that heightened security was necessary.

“As of now, I have not discussed it with the president. But definitely, our police should exercise even greater vigilance and strengthen security measures,” she added.

 An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near the entrance of the Department of Justice in Manila early on Monday, hours before a suspected unexploded device was found near the Senate in Pasay City.

READ: PNP probes ‘connected’ improvised explosive devices outside DOJ, Senate

The explosion just after midnight, which resulted in no casualties, and the discovery of the second suspected bomb came hours before Marcos delivered his annual Sona in the late afternoon.

There was “big possibility or probability that the two incidents are related,” Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. told reporters during an inspection of the police force’s deployment along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. /das