PNP to secure Estrada on promulgation of verdict

By Ronron
September 7, 2007

The Philippine National Police (PNP) assured on Friday that it will ensure the security of former President Joseph Estrada this coming Wednesday when the Sandiganbayan promulgates its ruling on his plunder case.

“We will implement what we have prepared for to ensure that the promulgation will be peaceful and Erap will be secured,” Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao, Jr., public information officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said yesterday after learning of the promulgation schedule.

The PNP had earlier announced that it will be fielding 4,000 personnel on the day of the promulgation of the Sandiganbayan’s decision on Estrada’s case. They will be augmented by some 2,000 personnel from the Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM).

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director Gen. Reynaldo Varilla had said that the police force in the region could be placed on red alert status one or two days before the promulgation day just to make sure no untoward incident will happen.

As of yesterday, Pagdilao said there is still no advise to raise the alert from the present heightened level.

Officials have said that they are expecting supporters of Estrada to mass up near the Sandiganbayan in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City on promulgation day, and they are wary that communist rebels will infiltrate the demonstrators.

But, in a statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines, said the fear of the PNP is “baseless” as it is surely from the police ranks that violence will start.

“Gloria Arroyo morbidly fears the renews build up of massive protests demanding her ouster, especially in the face of the revival of the Hello Garci investigations with even more damning evidence and witnesses, and the mounting opposition to the corrupt-ridden broadband deal and other cases of corruption in her government,” CPP spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal said in the statement.

Rosal called the deployment of a total of 6,000 forces as “exhibiting extreme paranoia” on the part of the government./DMS