THE Baguio City Police Office assured it has enough manpower to manage the end-of-the-month month break during All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on November 1 to 2, respectively.
City Director Police Colonel Allen Rey Co said there will be no augmentation requests for the holidays as other areas also experience the same influx of people.
He also assured that the local police force can handle the situation.
“We are very confident that we can do it on our own,” Co said.
The police director said the launching of the tourist police last week aimed to help locals and tourists during the last quarter of the year.
“We do not discourage visitors from coming up. We encourage them to visit, we have our systems in place,” Co said. He added that patrol guides for each substation has been in place to help secure each area in the city.
The BCPO chief said the patrol guide is for substations to cover each of the barangays “for maximum coverage of spots in the city.”
For traffic, Co said there will be roving teams from the BCPO to respond to traffic hotspots and to monitor obstructions in the city streets.
The city director added that at the Harrison Road night market, a mobile police force will be on patrol early in the morning when the street opens and late at night when it closes. The said police force will be augmented by a K-9 team every evening.
At present, there are almost 1,200 vendors converging in the night market with 93 of them selling food products.
The night market began in 2007 when vendors of ukay-ukay stalls along Calderon street started selling their wares at night on makeshift tables and on pavements.
Meanwhile, Baguio Tourism Officer Alec Mapalo said the City Tourism Office has earlier posted a few reminders to visitors to promote responsible tourism in Baguio for everyone’s convenience.
“First, it is important to know that we have anti-littering and anti-smoking laws. So please be responsible of your own trash and help us nurture and protect the environment always. Second, enjoy Baguio at its best by walking. So please leave your private vehicles. Use public transport and simply walk around. This will also help ease out traffic congestion. Lastly, support local by buying local products and going to local establishments, and respect local culture by learning and understanding more about the rich heritage, history and the culture of the peoples of the city and the Cordillera,” Mapalo said.