NCRPO to go on full alert for antipork prayer vigil on Edsa on Sept. 11

The National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) will go on full alert for the Sept. 11 antipork rally even though it is anticipating a smaller crowd compared to the Million People March held at Rizal Park last month.

NCRPO director Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo Jr. said that a third of the members of the Quezon City police and Eastern Police District would be deployed to Edsa where groups opposed to the pork barrel system would hold a half-day prayer vigil.

Speaking to reporters, Garbo said he expected the participants to reach around 5,000 to 6,000, down from the crowd of 100,000 that trooped to Rizal Park on Aug. 26, National Heroes Day.

Garbo also met with Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino and other police officials Monday afternoon to finalize their security and traffic management plans for the second antipork rally.

The MMDA will deploy at least 500 traffic enforcers to ensure the smooth flow of traffic for the rally which is expected to start at 6 a.m. and end at noon.

“We have a list of groups which will attend and most of them are coming from the religious sector,” Garbo said.

“This will be the same with the Million People March in its purpose. They are also against the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund). But the crowd won’t reach a million people perhaps,” he added.

With the crisis going on in Zamboanga City, Garbo said members of the “intelligence community” were studying if there would be a “spillover” from the conflict in Mindanao.

“We are still trying to get intelligence information on the situation in Zamboanga City. We will factor in the development in Zamboanga in our security plan for the mass gathering on Wednesday,” Garbo told reporters.

Some 36 military trucks will be on standby in case the rally will leave commuters stranded. “Traffic control is our number one problem here. We will carefully study how the traffic on Edsa will be rerouted,” Garbo said.

At the same time, he appealed to the protesters to respect Edsa’s status as a no-rally zone. “These religious groups should abide by the rules and refrain from carrying placards and banners inside the shrine,” Garbo said.

Meanwhile, the Quezon City police said it would ensure the smooth flow of traffic on Edsa “so as not to inconvenience others.”

QCPD deputy director for operations Senior Supt. Procopio Lipana said this meant that participants would not be allowed to gather on the street but only inside the shrine.—With Julie M. Aurelio