PNP to undergo rights seminar before SONA duty

Before they are deployed on D-Day, anti-riot police personnel tasked to deal with protesters during President Benigno Aquino III's State of the Nation Address on July 25 will undergo a human rights seminar and a refresher course. National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo ordered the mandatory courses for the Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) to "mentally and physically" prepare the police personnel. "We will enforce maximum tolerance with protesters, so that injuries from both sides will be avoided," Bacalzo said in a news release issued Friday. The training will be held a week before the SONA to make sure police "exercise utmost respect" for human rights. However, Bacalzo also urged groups planning protest actions to secure the appropriate permits from local authorities. For his part, Quezon City police head Chief Superintendent George Regis said police will be deployed along all major roads leading to the Batasan Complex, where President Aquino will deliver his SONA before a joint session of Congress. Regis also said police will conduct checkpoint, mobile and foot patrol operations. 7,000 cops to secure SONA Earlier in the day, the National Capital Region Police Office said at least 7,000 cops will be deployed to key areas in Metro Manila on July 25. Metro Manila police head Chief Superintendent Allan Purisima also ordered his men on full alert starting July 24, according to a report by radio dzBB's Manny Vargas. Purisima said his unit will seek assistance from police offices from nearby regions to maintain security in Metro Manila come SONA day. He also assured there will be enough Civil Disturbance Management Unit personnel to deal with protesters. The report said police will tighten security at the Senate and the House of Representatives at the Batasan complex as well as along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. Rally permit Meanwhile, militant groups have applied with the Quezon City government Friday for a permit to hold their annual SONA protest rally. The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said it expects "more" than last year's 8,000 participants to join its protest action this year, radio dzBB's Rowena Salvacion reported. "We will be marching for jobs, wages, land reform, human rights and national sovereignty. The SONA rally is an annual protest action that aims to highlight various people’s issues that the incumbent administration must address. It is also an occasion for the people to give their own assessment of the Aquino government," Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a news release, before the group applied for a rally permit. — RSJ, GMA News