Around 100 Duterte supporters camp overnight at EDSA Shrine — PNP

MANILA, Philippines — After hundreds of Vice President Sara Duterte’s supporters flocked to the EDSA Shrine on Tuesday, November 26, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported that around 100 camped overnight.

As of 6 a.m. on Wednesday, November 27, the PNP counted about 100 people resting behind the EDSA Shrine along Ortigas Avenue after staying overnight.

“As of 6:00 a.m., nasa around 100 ang nandun. Ang iba pa po sa kanila ay natutulog at nagpapahinga po because nag-stay sila overnight,” Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said in an interview with DZBB Super Radyo 594. 

(As of 6:00 a.m. there were around 100 people there. Some of them were sleeping and resting because they stayed overnight.)

The vice president’s supporters gathered at the shrine after Malacañang, the House of Representatives and various law enforcement agencies responded to the death threats Duterte made around midnight on November 23.

The National Bureau of Investigation issued a subpoena, ordering her appearance at the agency’s headquarters on Friday, November 29, to explain to them directly about the statements she made. 

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Since EDSA Shrine’s management gave the supporters permission to hold a protest there, Fajardo said the police has been instructed only to “maintain peace and order in the area” and ensure that traffic is unaffected.

Fajardo clarified that the PNP will only intervene in their protest if the hundreds of supporters go beyond the boundary set by the EDSA Shrine management or cause heavy traffic along nearby roads. 

“That’s precisely the reason kung bakit minemaintain natin yung security coverage to make sure na hindi sila lalagpas sa boundary ng pagpayag ng management ng EDSA Shrine,” she said.

(That's precisely the reason why we maintain security coverage—to ensure they do not go beyond the boundary allowed by the EDSA Shrine management.)

She also refuted claims that the Bureau of Fire Protection’s (BFP) firetruck dispersed the supporters on Tuesday night, explaining that it was deployed as a “precautionary measure” due to the candle-lighting protest held by Duterte’s supporters. 

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