Over 15,000 police personnel to be deployed in Metro Manila for September 21 rally

MANILA – The National Capital Region Police Office will be placed on full alert starting Sept. 19 to ensure peace and security ahead of rallies scheduled for Sept. 21 in Metro Manila, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Thursday.

The full alert status will start 12 midnight Friday, and full deployment will be done by Saturday afternoon, PNP spokesperson Col. Allen Rae Co told reporters in a press briefing in Camp Crame.

The full alert status is the PNP’s highest operational readiness and security deployment, suspending all leaves for officers and requiring all personnel of the units concerned to be on standby.

“So we will be deploying more than 15,700 personnel and the instruction is that all security personnel will not be carrying their firearms. Our body-worn cameras will be used for the said security operations,” said Co.

However, he did not specify when the full alert status would be lifted.

The PNP is particularly concerned about the incident that happened on the same date last year wherein a small youth group burned vehicles and attacked policemen on the roads leading to Malacañang Palace.

Police investigation later revealed that there was a plan to attack Malacañang at that time.

Co said security will be in place on all the roads leading to Malacañang to foil a similar attempt this year.

“We have contingency plans in place. We do not see any specific threats as of now but we are continuously monitoring the situation. If we receive information, we would verify, validate and act if we need to,” said Co.

The official, however, asked the protesters to police their own rank and help prevent confrontation with the police.

“The PNP respects everyone’s rights to peacefully assemble but what we want to remind the people is that their constitutional protection ends when another person’s rights are violated,” Co said.

“All CDM (civil disturbance management) personnel will not be carrying their firearms. Our body-worn cameras will be used for the said security operations,” he maintained.

He added that the chief PNP has given a directive to exercise maximum tolerance at all times and all instances during the protests.

Co further noted that the police force has yet to monitor any security threats.

He also reminded protesters to observe ordinances banning the burning of effigies and the wearing of balaclavas and face coverings in public establishments and while dismounted from motorcycles in the City of Manila.

Co disputed the “overkill” tag, asserting that PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. had directed the agency to exercise “maximum tolerance” for the anticipated protests.

“'Di bale nang medyo sumobra na sinasabi nila, pero ma-ensure naman natin na yung general public will not be endangered and will not be inconvenienced (It’s better to be excessive as they say, to ensure the general public will not be endangered nor inconvenienced),” he said.

“Ginawan ito ng pag-aaral. Ginawan ito ng pag-uusap kasama yung ating stakeholders na concerned dito sa activity na ito. Dito nakita yung pangangailangan para masiguro natin ang kaayusan sa araw na iyon (We studied this. We consulted this with stakeholders concerned with this activity. We saw the need for security on that day),” he added.

NCRPO officer-in-charge Brig. Gen. Christopher Abrahano said the regional police force will be raising its alert level for the protest-actions.

“Kailangan natin ng maraming tao. Wala munang leave. Kailangan tulong-tulong muna at we need a pool of policemen para magbantay sa mga kalsada natin. Ang desire ng ating pamunuan ni chief PNP na tulong-tulong yung mga kalapit regions to ensure the capital is safe (We need a lot of personnel. There will be no leaves allowed. We have to work together and we need a pool of policemen to safeguard our streets. The desire of our leadership and chief PNP is to get help from neighboring regions to ensure the capital is safe),” he said.

“We are also establishing coordination with the known leaders of these groups to warn them, to make arrangements with them this early,” Abrahano added.

On Sept. 21, 2025, anti-corruption rallies were held in parts of the NCR, stemming from public outrage over the flood control and infrastructure corruption scandal.

-Philippine News Agency