Police Commissioner Manning assures Port Moresby residents of safety, urges calm amid misinformation

Police Commissioner David Manning has reassured the public, confirming that daily routines in Port Moresby will proceed normally and urged citizens to dismiss misinformation currently circulating on social media.

In a late-night broadcast interview with NBC News, Commissioner Manning called for resilience and professionalism of Papua New Guinea's disciplined forces, specifically addressing ongoing rumors regarding internal unrest.

He assured the public that the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary [RPNGC] and the Papua New Guinea Defence Force [PNGDF] are fully capable of managing their own internal affairs without disrupting the community.

"There is a lot of faith put into the professionalism of our soldiers, our servicemen and women, and police members of the RPNGC," Manning said on NBC National Radio tonight. "They will continue to exercise that professionalism and demonstrate that if there is a situation within our respective disciplined forces, we are able to deal with it internally without involving the public."

Addressing the spread of rumors, Manning reflected on the severe lessons the nation learned from "Black Wednesday." He cautioned against falling victim to political interference and the dangers of political influence over both the security forces and the general public.

Manning appealed to the shared pride of the city's residents.

"We all want the same thing. We all want to live in a city that we're proud of and love, and identify with," he said. "This is home to all of us. We work here, we live here, we raise our children here. This is something that we need to guard."

The Police Commissioner transitioned to Tok Pisin to speak directly to the grassroots community. He reiterated that the country has already paid a heavy price during Black Wednesday and that such an incident must firmly remain in the past.

He called on citizens to place their trust in the PNGDF leadership to peacefully resolve their internal matters, while asking for community support for the police force as they work to maintain order.