Military and police authorities said they have not detected any security threat in the runup to President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address on Monday.
This coincided with the House of Representatives guaranteeing safety measures for officials attending the official function, where the presidential address would be beamed nationwide by television and radio.
The authorities announced this amid rumors the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military arm New People’s Army planned to topple the Duterte administration.
Close to 2,000 troops from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police will be mobilized and deployed to the perimeter of the Batasang Pambansa to secure the edifice during Duterte’s Sona.
“As of this report, the AFP has not monitored any threat from local terrorist groups, but its forces will continue to be on a proactive stance against all threats of violence and will exert every effort to preserve the peace, particularly in NCR, where the seat of the government is,” said Col. Noel Detoyato, chief of AFP Public Affairs Office.