MMDA, PNP Address ready
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will be deploying 1,360 personnel to guide motorists during the rerouting scheme to be implemented along Commonwealth Avenue in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s last State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on Monday, 26 July.
MMDA chair Benhur Abalos Jr. said those assigned consist of traffic enforcers, road emergency group personnel, motorcycle patrol units and sidewalk clearing operations group.
He also ordered the distribution of raincoats to protect them in case it rains on Monday.
“The MMDA is in close coordination with the Presidential Security Group, Quezon City Police District and Department of Public Order and Safety to ensure a peaceful and orderly SoNA,” Abalos said.
Motorists are advised to take alternate routes to avoid expected heavy traffic along Commonwealth Avenue and the vicinity of Batasang Pambansa Complex.
The MMDA will open zipper lanes or allow counterflow of vehicles along Commonwealth Avenue at the UP Techno Hub and Tandang Sora to accommodate the volume of vehicles on the northbound lane.
To guide the motorists on the use of zipper lanes, plastic barriers and traffic cones shall be installed.
Ambulances, tow trucks, military trucks and other resources will be placed on standby in case any untoward incident may happen.
Ahead of the SoNA, the MMDA will conduct clearing operations to remove illegally-parked vehicles and other road obstructions at the following areas: Batasan Hills, Litex Road, Tandang Sora, Visayas Avenue, Congressional Avenue, C-5 Road, Magiting, Maginhawa Mayaman and Kalayaan.
Meanwhile, some law enforcers will be using the newly-procured body-worn cameras during the security operations for the SoNA, Philippines National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said.
“We will use them to document the event,” Eleazar said in a press briefing.
Earlier, National Capital Region Police Office director Maj. Gen. Vicente Danao said body-worn cameras will be used, particularly to monitor the movement of people in and around the SoNA venue.
“We will be able to better see the movement of people, and we will be able to focus more on the place of their deployment. This is to ensure that we will not be overtaken by any suspicious person who may commit mischief,” Danao earlier said in a statement.
The PNP distributed last month 2,696 body-worn cameras to 171 police stations and offices, including those that are in Metro Manila.
Eleazar confirmed that some 15,000 personnel will provide security for Monday’s SoNA, though not all will be policemen.
Of this number, 11,800 are policemen, including 9,900 from the NCRPO and 1,100 from other units, he said.
They will be augmented by 3,300 other personnel, which will come from the Armed Forces, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, MMDA and other “force multipliers,” the PNP chief said.
“We like to assure the public that the presence of police, whether in places of convergence, strategic locations, or even just on standby in different camps, is to ensure that we are ready for any eventuality.”
Motorists are advised to take alternate routes to avoid expected heavy traffic along Commonwealth Avenue and the vicinity of Batasang Pambansa Complex.