The Senate will continue to enforce 'heightened security' measures with the assistance of various law enforcement agencies, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said on Thursday, June 18.

During a press conference, Gatchalian said the enhanced security protocols will remain in effect at the Senate as part of ongoing efforts to maintain order and safety within the premises.

Under the current arrangements, visitors are not allowed to enter the Senate unless a written request has been submitted and approved.

For committee hearings, Gatchalian said all committees are required to submit guest lists in advance to the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) to ensure proper coordination and security screening.

“They will have to submit the guest list ahead of time and then sa OSAA para alam ng OSAA sino yung mga resource persons ng iba't ibang committees,” Gatchalian said.

“I monitored the process. Okay naman, very smooth naman ‘yung ganon. So we will request the chairman or the committee secretaries to submit the guest list ahead of time,” he added.

The Senate President said weekly security briefings will also be conducted with the Philippine National Police and other concerned agencies.

Gatchalian said these briefings aim to regularly assess security conditions and prepare for the coming week.

“Ang plano namin ni Sergeant-at-Arms is every end of the week, tomorrow actually, we’ll have a security briefing with the Philippine National Police and other agencies para malaman namin ‘yung status for the next week,” he said.