THE police are set to deploy some 6,000 personnel as they have laid down security measures to ensure the solemn and peaceful observance of the Holy Week in Zamboanga Peninsula (Western Mindanao).
Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula Director Billy Beltran said on Saturday, April 8, that the focus of the security plan are the places of convergence and along the highways.
Catholic devotees are expected to flock in places of worship and people traveling along the highways would double in number as they go on vacation to observe the Holy Week together with their families.
Beltran said they will set up public assistance centers and checkpoints along the highways to be able to respond to the needs of the travelers who might encounter problem while traveling.
Policemen will be also deployed in bus terminals and ports all over the region.
Beltran’s office covers the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur and the cities of Isabela and Zamboanga.
He said the police forces will be strengthen in areas where threat groups exist such as in the province of Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay.
On Thursday, joint police and military forces have neutralized following a firefight that killed an Abdusalam kidnap-for-ransom-group (KFRG) member in the village of Salipyasin, Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Another KFRG member managed to escape during the firefight that ensued during a law enforcement operation.
Beltran urged the public to assist them by way of providing timely and vital information on the presence of people acting suspiciously in their community to ensure the peaceful observance of the Holy Week in the region. (SunStar Philippines)