ILOILO City – Rallies of militant groups across Region 6 were held peacefully as President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday.
According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), as of 6 p.m. there were no complaints or untoward incidents involving rallyists.
“The mass assemblies dispersed immediately,” Malong said.
The PRO-6 deployed 999 police personnel – composed of 432 unit personnel, 464 civil disturbance management and 103 Regional Standby Support Force (RSSF) – to maintain peace and order.
“The community quarantine was also a big help. There were few protesters. Kay kon damo sila, dakpon man namon if indi sila mag-observe sang social distancing,” Malong said.
PRO-6 counted only 457 SONA protesters – 430 in Bacolod City, 20 in Iloilo City and seven in Capiz.
Among the groups that held rallies were Gabriela, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN Panay), Sanlakas, Kadamay, and Bayan Capiz.
The PRO-6 was thankful to the groups for holding rallies peacefully, the police for taking their time to secure the whole region safe and the stakeholders for their cooperation.
“Our security deployment and preparation was really successful because no incidents or tension between the protesters and our police happened. They ended their rally peacefully so we are thankful to everybody for their cooperation,” Malong added./PN
