PRO-7, militants prepare for anti-Sona rally on Monday

Police your own ranks and avoid creating chaos.

Authorities made the call in Friday’s dialogue with militant and sectoral group leaders in Cebu City as part of the security preparations for Monday’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The dialogue was initiated by newly installed Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) Director Jose Mario Espino.

“Holding this kind of a dialogue is a standard practice that we do in the National Capital Region before a major activity,” said Espino.

Among those present during the dialogue were Senior Supt. Joel Doria, chief of the Cebu City Police Office; Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor for police matters; lawyer Arvin Odron, regional director of the Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas (CHR-7); Greg Perez, chairman of the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston)-Cebu; and Bebe Allere of Gabriela.

Earlier in the day, Espino also looked into the preparations of members of the Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) and Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO) and CCPO’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) at the PRO-7 quadrangle.

The PRO-7 director inspected the different police units equipment, uniforms and vehicles to ensure their readiness for protest actions that may happen on Monday.

In the afternoon, Espino reminded militant groups of several prohibitions which include the bringing of backpacks during their rally on Monday morning.

“Just leave your backpacks in your vehicles because we will never know that some individuals may use backpacks to carry explosives,” said Espino.

Espino said 250 personnel from the civil disturbance management will be deployed along the rally route from the Capitol grounds to downtown Cebu City.

Odron said CHR-7 will also be sending field investigators to monitor the conduct of the protest rally.

Police said militant groups have not applied for a permit for Monday’s rally, but Councilor Tumulak assured that rallies will be allowed in the city even in the absence of a City Hall permit.

“There’s a need to have a permit if you are using a government property. But even without a permit, we will give them a chance to express their sentiments provided that they follow existing city ordinances,” said Tumulak.

Tumulak said protesters must also follow traffic rules to avoid hampering traffic flow in the city.

Tumulak advised the protesters to deploy their own traffic marshals to secure the rally route.

If the authorities are enforcing security measures, it is because the welfare of the protesters are being considered, Tumulak said.

“This is not against you. We should be helping one another. We are preparing for (the) other forces, the third forces nga magpakaaron-ingnon, mopahimus sa higayon, motipon kaninyo ug mag sugod ug kasamok (that may infiltrate your group, take advantage of the event and create commotion),” Tumulak said during the dialogue.

Perez for his part said they welcomed the PRO-7 initiated dialogue.

“Nagpasalamat mi sa police nga gisugdan ning ingon ani nga dialog before sa mga dagkung kalihokan. Isipon namo ni nga dakung kalambo-an alang sa pagtinabangay,” he said.