Director General Jesus Verzosa, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has declared the Quirino Grandstand a no-fly zone during the inauguration of President-elect Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino III as the 15th President of the Republic on June 30.

Verzosa also placed the entire police force in Metro Manila on highest alert status starting Sunday in preparation for the Aquino inaugural.

Police also said that all seacraft will not be allowed to sail in the nearby Manila Bay as part of the security measures for the inauguration.

“The PNP has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) declaring the airspace over Quirino Grandstand as a no-fly zone for the duration of the inaugural ceremony,” said Verzosa.

He said that only helicopters owned or rented by television stations that sought special permits will be allowed to hover over the Quirino Grandstand for the taking of aerial footages of the event.

“A Notice to Mariners will also be issued for seacraft in Manila Bay along the shoreline of the Quirino Grandstant and Ocean Park area,” he added.

Verzosa said policemen were  placed on highest alert to maximize the deployment of policemen in providing security to all venues where inaugural ceremonies and related activities will be held.

The center of activities will be at the Quirino Grandstand where President-elect Aquino will take his oath of office before Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales

Police officials who will composed the leadership of the Task Force Panunumpa under Deputy Director General Jefferson Soriano, PNP deputy chief for Administration, met Thursday in Camp Crame to further map out the security measures for the activity.

Police Director Roberto Rosales, director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and deputy commander of Task Force Panunumpa, said they will be deploying at least 5,500 policemen for Aquino’s inauguration activities.

Aquino Cabinet
As this developed, President-elect Aquino said he will announce the composition of his Cabinet on Tuesday, June 29, the eve of his inauguration.

And Aquino’s first order of the day for his Cabinet – assess the conditions of their respective areas of concern.

“We want to know the picture, and the picture presents the problems, the proposed and possible solutions...We want to make sure the details we are addressing are the real details, not the assumed details, we want to make sure they are the correct ones,” Aquino said as he pointed out that three weeks after his inauguration on June 30, he will present the solution during his first State-of-the-Nation Address (SoNA) when the 15th Congress opens July 26 at the Batasang Pambansa building in Quezon City.

He acknowledged the difficulty he went through in choosing the right persons for the Cabinet posts.

Aquino said his first consideration is a recognized skill in the particular field he is being proposed to occupy.

There are certain departments where financial skills are very intense, there are others for social networking, he said.

“To each specific task, there is a specific criterion. After the skills, there's the track record. Does he have a position to uphold or does he just ride with the wave? If he is the latter, then he is not right,” Aquino said.

“There will be bold strokes of exactly what the people can expect. But more of the details will be fleshed out come SoNA,” Aquino added.

According to the incoming Chief Executive, his administration will be strictly adhering to a time frame so everything will be properly addressed before amendments to the budget are made.

“We have to present the budget about a month after the SoNA. So there’s something like 7 weeks to complete all the plans,” Aquino told reporters.

“July 1, we assume our post, and we promised zero budgeting. SoNA is three weeks after. One month after SoNA you have to submit the proposed budget. So we will be filling up all the items in the budget, the amendments, the additions, and deductions. Learning the ropes of your department all in about 1.5 months, so it is exigent that when they are already there, they will be ready,” he stressed.