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July 23, 2001, The Philippine Star, 7,500 Cops, Elite Troops Deployed at Batasan Today, by Non Alquitran,

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July 23, 2001, The Philippine Star, 7,500 Cops, Elite Troops Deployed at Batasan Today, by Non Alquitran, 


Manila, July 23, 2001 - (STAR) Six battalions of combat troops are awaiting orders to reinforce 7,500 policemen guarding the House of Representatives in Quezon City as President Arroyo delivers her first State of the Nation Address (SONA) before a joint opening session of the 12th Congress this afternoon.

Police authorities are expecting some 30,000 militant protesters to turn up outside the legislative complex to air their grievances against the six-month-old Arroyo administration.

Metro Manila police commander Deputy Director General Edgar Galvante told reporters yesterday all routes leading to the legislative complex along Batasan Road will be guarded by anti-riot policemen.

"We are prepared for any eventuality," he said.

Northern Police District director Senior Superintendent Vidal Querol said yesterday his 350 men, who defended Malacañang from a siege of Estrada supporters last May 1, will be among the 3,500 policemen that will be deployed around the House of Representatives.

Querol said policemen will close the gates of the legislative complex by 7 a.m. and set up barricades on all roads leading to it and strictly bar the entry of all unauthorized persons.

Policemen will be deployed around the complex as early as 5 a.m., he added.

A military official, who requested anonymity, told The STAR yesterday three Army battalions will be on standby at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City; and the remaining three will be scattered at Fort Bonifacio in Makati, Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, and the Navy headquarters along Roxas Boulevard in Manila.

The official said the Armed Forces will not be sending any contingent to the House of Representatives because the PNP is in charge of maintaining security there.

"We are only playing a supporting role to the PNP, the primary duty is with the PNP," the military official said. "We are not deploying soldiers but we have on call six battalions of men."

However, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Jose Mabanta and PNP deputy intelligence chief Senior Superintendent Jaime Caringal said they have not monitored any group, including the New People’s Army and the Alex Boncayao Brigade, planning terrorist action to disrupt the SONA of Mrs. Arroyo.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao told reporters at a Philippine Press Institute forum over the weekend Mrs. Arroyo will unveil in her SONA a package of government programs that would generate jobs, assure education and build houses for the poor.

"This is really an acknowledgment that the cry of the poor is a paramount concern for her administration," he said. "The leitmotif: ‘Labanan ang Kahirapan’ (Fight Poverty), the key words trabaho, edukasyon, tahanan. The speech will address not only this generation but the generations to come."

Tiglao said Mrs. Arroyo’s speech will embody a "paradigm shift" in her administration’s policy following the riot at the gates of Malacañang last May 1, when thousands of Estrada supporters called for her resignation.

Tiglao said three consultants, including UP professor Alex Magno, helped in writing the speech in Filipino and English, but that Mrs. Arroyo was "personally and actively" involved in its preparation.

"The President’s speech will not take up more than 43 minutes," he said.

Mrs. Arroyo will hold office at the Department of Agriculture in Quezon City after delivering her SONA at the House of Representatives.

Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor said yesterday Mrs. Arroyo is particularly interested in finding out how the agriculture department will implement her instructions to create one million jobs, in line with her poverty alleviation program

"The DA fully supports President Arroyo’s vision to boost rural productivity and incomes for all sectors, especially our producers, all of which will bring about sustained economic growth for the country," he said.

Montemayor said the plan to create one million jobs in agriculture is part of the department’s overall development program called the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani-Countrywide Assistance for Rural Employment and Services (GMA-CARES).

Under GMA-CARES, the department will tap newly-irrigated rice lands, as well as abandoned, under-utilized or idle lands for corn, cassava and other high-value crops, he added.

Montemayor said GMA-CARES will have four components:

• Water.
• Credit (innovative financing schemes).
• Technological support and market to boost productivity.
• Improve the competitiveness of local agriculture. – With Christina Mendez, Romel Bagares, Mayen Jaymalin, Ding Cervantes

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