8,500 cops to be deployed for EDSA anniv.
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police will send around 8,500 of its personnel to “secure” two commemorations of the anniversary of the EDSA People Power uprising on February 25.
The PNP will deploy some 6,000 cops for the upcoming rally in Metro Manila while 2,500 will be sent to the rally in Cebu, according to a state news agency.
“And of course, these numbers will adjust depending on how the intelligence reports will come in,” PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. told reporters on the sidelines of a Manila Police District event on Monday.
Acorda said that cops will exercise “maximum tolerance” but he also hoped for protestors to “not sow chaos.”
Previously, mass demonstrations held in honor of the EDSA revolt that led to the overthrow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. have been peaceful with zero reports of scuffles between cops and protestors.
President Marcos Jr. did not include the EDSA anniversary in the list of holidays for 2024.
The Office of the President opted not to include the event as a holiday due to the “minimal socio-economic impact in declaring this day as a special non-working holiday.”
