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PSG chief: Aquino may have to use 'wangwang' if there are security threats


President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III may have to use sirens when traveling by land if his life is under threat, the head of his security detail said Tuesday. But Presidential Security Group commander Col. Ramon Dizon said that as of the moment, Aquino can stick to his practice of not using sirens (wangwang). "We have to weigh the risks," Dizon said in an interview on GMA Network's Unang Hirit. "If there are intelligence reports [saying there is a threat] we might have to ask him to [use the wangwang], we might have to go through stoplights, keep the convoy moving rather than stopping," he said.
The late President Ferdinand Marcos issued a decree in 1973 regulating the use of sirens, bells, whistles, horns and other similar devices. (See: Law vs 'wang-wangs' already existing; implementation absent — De Lima) "The gadgets or devices mentioned above may be attached to and use only on motor vehicles designated for official use by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, Land Transportation Commission, Police Departments, Fire Departments, and hospital ambulances," a portion of the law said. For government officials, only the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Supreme Court Chief Justice are entitled to use vehicles with these devices. Dizon, who was a member of the PSG during the administrations of the late president Corazon Aquino and former presidents Fidel V. Ramos and Joseph Estrada, said a moving convoy was "definitely" a "harder target" than a convoy that stops at traffic. Dizon noted, however, that cars are giving way to Aquino's convoy even though they are not using sirens. In one of the most loudly applauded portions of his inaugural speech last June 30, Aquino said he had experienced the frustration of being stuck in traffic while powerful people in siren-blaring cars breezed by. He promised, among others, that there would be no irresponsible use of wangwang in his administration. Aquino's refusal to use sirens made him a little over 30 minutes late for the military change of command ceremonies at Camp Aguinaldo last Friday. His spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino may have to wake up early to get to his engagements on time. On Monday, Aquino arrived a few minutes earlier than scheduled at the 63rd anniversary celebrations of the Philippine Air Force at Camp Aguinaldo. — Jam Sisante/RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV

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