MANILA — The risk of any violence erupting during President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23 is very low, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said Tuesday.
“Kung magkaroon man ng (If there will be a) shooting, it will be isolated. They cannot do it widespread. Kasi kung may plano nawidespread (If there is a widespread plan), we can monitor it. Kasi pag mas marami kang coordination ng (attacks or disruptions) malaki gagawin mo (Because if you have many coordinated attacks or disruptions, you have to do many things), the possibility of it being discovered is also high. So as of now, wala tayong nadi-discover na ganun dahil (we are not discovering things like that because) all the possibilities are low,” he added.
Detoyato said that the military is still confirming reports that local terrorist groups are planning to disrupt the SONA.
“Wala, walang (None, there are no) confirmed na reports,” the AFP official stressed.
Earlier, Detoyato said the AFP through its Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR) will be deploying 600 officers and enlisted personnel to augment the security measures being implemented by the police during this year’s SONA.
He added that this force can be augmented if needed. (Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
