ABOUT four police personnel were deployed by Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) to secure the newly opened Esplanade project near the Bacolod Government Center (BGC).
Police Colonel Henry Binas, acting director of BCPO, said two personnel from Police Station 4 and two other personnel from BCPO Mobile Patrol Group were deployed to secure the revelers at Esplanade.
On Monday night, Binas along with the city officials led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Congressmen Greg Gasataya, Councilor Em Ang, and District Engineer Abraham Villareal led the inauguration of P37 million Esplanade project from Lupit Bridge along the Circumferential Road going to the BGC.
“We will ensure the safety of our revelers here as well as the possible vandalism incident,” Binas said.
He said policemen were deployed in two shifts 24 hours a day.
Before the inauguration of the Esplanade, the flood wall was vandalized by unidentified assailants and it was immediately addressed by the Department of the Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The Esplanade project was constructed with a flood wall, benches, railings, lighting facilities and blocks to make the area more attractive.
The half-kilometer Esplanade project has a total budget of P37 million and this is the first Esplanade project in Bacolod.
Esplanade is a long open, level area, typically beside sea or river, along which people may walk for pleasure.
Leonardia said the BCPO should ensure that the area is safe for everybody.
“Binas should come up with a security plan for this project. The vandalism there was some kind of a wake-up call for us that if we don’t take care of these, that is what is going to happen here,” he said.
For his part, Gasataya, who facilitated the project, said the Esplanade will be a new tourist area of the people of Bacolod.
He said this year, he will facilitate an additional budget for the continuation of the floodwall in the opposite site of the Esplanade.