Noynoy Aquino to take oath at the Luneta grandstand

President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III will take his oath as the Philippines' 15th president at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, his camp said Tuesday.


Aquino spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Noynoy's inauguration and oath-taking would be held at the Quirino Grandstand because it could accommodate more people than the original preferred venue, the Quezon City Memorial Circle.

"For security reasons na rin," Lacierda told GMANews.TV over the phone.

In 1998, President Joseph Estrada took his oath at the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, and later delivered his inaugural speech at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

In 2004, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered her inaugural speech at the Quirino Grandstand but took her oath in Cebu City.

Aquino is expected to take his oath on June 30 before Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales instead of Chief Justice Renato Corona because Aquino is questioning Corona's appointment to the top judicial post.

Street party

A street party will be held at the Quezon City Memorial Circle by nighttime that same day. It was at the QCMC where Aquino held his miting de avance on May 7.

The party, which will include musical performances, will be open to the public, Lacierda said.

The details of the street party are still being finalized by Maria Montelibano, one of the heads of Aquino's media affairs. Montelibano headed the Radio-TV Malacañang during the administration of Aquino's mother, the late former President Corazon Aquino.

Earlier in the day, National Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said they plan to flesh out security plans at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila and the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

"We will secure the Quirino Grandstand as well as Elliptical (Road) and Quezon Memorial Circle come Inauguration Day (We will secure Quirino Grandstand and Elliptical Road and Quezon Memorial Circle come Inauguration Day)," Espina said in an interview on dzXL radio.

He said the PNP plans to meet regularly with representatives of concerned agencies in fleshing out the security plans for the occasion.

Source: GmaNews