Police to declare Commonwealth Ave. 'no rally zone' for Marcos' first SONA

Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Passengers wait for a ride ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/06/01/20200601-gcq-commuters-commonwealth-md-47-s.jpg"/><figcaption>Passengers wait for a ride along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City in 2020. This major thoroughfare is near Batasang Pambansa, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will be delivering his first SONA on July 25, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — The entire stretch of Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City will be declared a “no rally zone&quot; during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25, police said on Tuesday. SONA protests will only be allowed at designated freedom parks, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said.“Puwede tayo sa loob lang ng UP, sa QMC kung makakakuha ng permit. For the roads, walang designated place for rallies. Ang whole stretch ng Commonwealth will be no rally zone,” said QCPD Deputy Director for Administration Col. Fernando Ortega. “Talagang bawal po iyan dahil kalsada. It will hamper lahat ng ano sa kalsada. Kaya may designated areas for rallies,” he told reporters at Camp Karingal. (We are allowed inside the University of the Philippines and the Quezon Memorial Circle if we can secure permits. For the roads, there is no designated place for rallies. The whole stretch of Commonwealth will be a no rally zone. It is really prohibited because it is a road. It will hamper everything. That is why there are designated areas for rallies.) Some <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/07/19/22/more-than-20000-troops-to-secure-marcos-sona">22,000 policemen</a> will secure Marcos Jr.’s SONA, according to Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr.Similar to his inauguration, security measures for the President’s SONA will be tight, said the PNP. Police will not interfere with protesters as long as their activity does not hamper traffic and will remain peaceful, Danao said. “No problem if it is within the compound of UP, basta hindi lang sila pupunta sa premises ng HOR,” he said. “However, if there will be a situation wherein hindi natin maiwasan, still we will exercise maximum tolerance. Sana lang hindi tayo umabot sa karahasan na sinasabi nila. Sa PNP, we have no intention of hurting anyone,&quot; added the official. (There is no problem if it is within the compound of UP, as long as they will not go to the premises of the House of Representatives. However, if there will be a situation wherein we cannot avoid that, still we will exercise maximum tolerance. We just hope that there will be no violence.) The PNP said it was coordinating with protest organizers. “Ang Commonwealth kasi is a main thoroughfare. Ang ating ginagawa, as much as possible, nakikipag-ugnayan tayo… Pinapakiusap not to be there,” Metro Manila police director MGen. Felipe Natividad said. “But if they will insist to do that, maximum tolerance and calibrated response, gagawin natin, we will not allow them. That will be public disorder—traffic, inconveniences. It’s a nuisance,” he added. (It&#x27;s because the Commonwealth is a main thoroughfare. As much as possible, we are coordinating with them, asking them not to be there. But if they will insist on doing that, we will implement maximum tolerance and calibrated response, we will not allow them.)Natividad continued, “Kung ano gusto nilang hinaing, pagbibigyan pero doon sa nararapat na lugar para sa kanila. Commonwealth is not the right place for them.&quot; (We will grant their requests, but they should stay at the right venue.) On Friday, the police will implement what it calls “Metro Manila Shield” where border control points will be put up across the region.“Expect that there will be checkpoints from time to time. It will be on a random basis depende sa (depending on the) threat assessment on that day,” Danao said. &quot;We are almost done with the preparations. It’s just a matter of maximum deployment on the day and day before.&quot;Danao also led the walkthrough and inspection of the security layout for the vicinity of the House of Representatives and along Commonwealth Avenue for the SONA.The QCPD and MMDA earlier said they would be implement traffic rerouting schemes for the event.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/24/21/qcpd-announces-traffic-rerouting-plan-for-sona">QCPD announces traffic rerouting plan for SONA</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/18/22/mmda-to-reroute-traffic-for-marcos-first-sona">MMDA to implement traffic rerouting for Marcos&#x27; first SONA</a></li></ul><div>RELATED VIDEO:</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2129947" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City will be declared a 'no rally zone' during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first SONA on July 25.

Police to declare Commonwealth Ave. 'no rally zone' for Marcos' first SONA | ABS-CBN

Halalan 2025

Entertainment

News

Metro.Style

Sports

More

Traffic

News

Police to declare Commonwealth Ave. 'no rally zone' for Marcos' first SONA

Police to declare Commonwealth Ave. 'no rally zone' for Marcos' first SONA

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 19, 2022 05:07 PM PHT

|

Updated Jul 19, 2022 05:08 PM PHT

Read More:

Quezon City

Commonwealth Avenue

SONA

PNP

Ferdinand Marcos Jr

Bongbong Marcos

SONA 2022

security

protest

no rally zone

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Advertise with Us

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.