By Pearl Gumapos
Philippine National Police (PNP) Police Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar on Monday said that there were no untoward incidents amongst mass actions and public assemblies that were staged by different groups during the 2021 State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the joint session of the 18th Congress.
“SONA 2021 was generally peaceful without any untoward incident that significantly affected today’s national event,” Eleazar said in a news brief.
The public assemblies had dispersed and ended activities once the SONA was finished.
“I am glad that reason prevailed over these groups to peacefully disperse or called-off their activities altogether. The best interest of public health and safety, and the rule of law spoke louder than the political undertones of these mass actions in the streets,” Eleazar said.
“I am thankful to the organizers and leaders of these public assemblies for heeding our call for sobriety and cooperation with police units on the ground for peaceful and orderly outcome of activities,” he added.
At around 9:45 a.m., some 1,000 cause-oriented group members were seen along University Avenue in UP Diliman QC.
The group grew to 3,000 more by 1:30 p.m. when more individuals from other groups joined.
Meanwhile, at 11:50 a.m., another group of 200 people was sighted at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Office along Commonwealth Avenue.
There were no visible or violent attempts by the groups to march further into Batasan.
Eleazer said the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) reported no major incidents or arrests were made during the day.
According to Eleazar, other regional police offices reported smaller activities in some key cities across the country, but did not cause any major disturbance to normal public activities. -rir