No SONA threat monitored - ISAFP

MANILA, Philippines - The military’s intelligence service has not monitored any threat that could disrupt President Aquino’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25.

Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) chief Maj. Gen. Romulo Bambao said they continue to work closely with the police to ensure that the SONA would be peaceful.

“There is no existing threat right now that will pose any danger to the SONA of the President, nothing that will be of security concern,” Bambao said in a chance interview in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

“We have the NCR (National Capital Region) Command that will support the PNP (Philippine National Police)... On the part of the intelligence community, we continue to monitor threats if ever there will be any,” he added.

Col. Vic Castro, AFP-NCRCOM Joint Task Force commander, also said they have intensified their information gathering about possible threats.

Bambao said the threat level in Metro Manila remains the same despite the upcoming SONA. He said armed groups like the New People’s Army and the Abu Sayyaf continue to pose a threat but not within alarming levels.

“I would always say that we consider it (presence of armed groups) always as a threat but the level of threat is not really alarming... The threat level of terrorism in Manila remains the same,” the ISAFP chief said.

Bambao, however, said they expect the usual protests at the SONA to be held at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

“We are more concerned about the right of our countrymen to hold peaceful rallies but we are not worried about that. We always expect those things and it is the responsibility of the police to maintain crowd control,” he said.

Bambao said the police disturbance operations would be supported by some units of the armed forces.

The ISAFP chief said they also do not expect any destabilization plots that could disrupt the SONA.

“All of us soldiers are supportive of the administration. We support all the programs of the government so there is nothing to worry about,” Bambao said.

Earlier, the PNP said it would deploy about 1,500 policemen in areas surrounding the Batasan complex to secure the venue of the SONA. – With Jaime Laude