DURING SONA, KEEP YOUR COOL, POLICE ADVISED
To deflect trouble during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) tomorrow afternoon, Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) contingents from the Police Regional Office ( PRO) 7 rehearsed with mock protests.
After the rehearsals, PRO 7 Director Jose Mario Espino advised the police officers to maintain their composure and practice maximum tolerance so that they won’t trigger any aggression on the part of protesters.
“Even if the rallyists are shouting there and throwing things, you must not disperse them. You just stand your ground. It will be up to the platoon leaders to give you the cue when to disperse them,” Espino said.
CDM contingents from the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO), Mandaue City Police Office ( MCPO) and the Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB) joined the formation rehearsals.
Espino stressed that the CDM personnel should maintain a non-aggressive stance and give way to negotiations between the rallyists and law enforcers.
“When the rallyists will approach you and force you to back down, it doesn’t mean that you will disperse them. Don’t give an aggressive stance because that will provoke them,” he said.
President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver his second SONA tomorrow, two days after Congress approved his request to extend martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year. In a statement, Malacañang has said that the SONA will be kept under an hour.