SEVERAL policemen have been deployed to different playing venues and billeting schools to secure the safety of contingents in the 2014 Batang Pinoy National Championships hosted by Bacolod City from December 9-13.
More than 3,000 athletes and officials are seeing action in the five-day sporting event that opened at the Paglaum Sports Complex Tuesday.
Senior Supt. Pedrito Escarilla, officer-in-charge of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), said that while policemen are securing playing venues and billeting areas, athletes, coaches, and officials should also be vigilant to avoid untoward incidents.
When Bacolod also hosted the same event last January 28 to February 1, one of the participants lost her bag to robbers who entered the school they were staying.
The billeting areas are in Bata Elementary School I and II, and Bata National High School for contingents from Luzon; C.V. Ramos Elementary School and E. Garcia Elementary School for the Visayas delegations; Domingo Lacson National High School for teams from Mindanao; and J.R. Torres National High School in Singcang-Airport for Bacolod and Negros Occidental contingent and technical officials.
Join hands for peace, Negrenses urged
Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. enjoined Negrenses to take part in the initiatives to attain lasting peace in the province.
“Cooperate and do your share,” was the governor’s call during the Provincial Peace Integration and Development Unit (Pro-Pidu) Stakeholders’ Forum at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City Tuesday.
“Peace is a very vital component of the society. Without it, there’s no progress,” he said.
The governor said the Provincial Government, along with the military and the police, are trying hard to make the province a peaceful place to live in.
He pointed out the need to end insurgency because “(t)his problem is more than 45 years already.”
Marañon said it is the people that make a country progressive as he noted that Taiwan is one of the most progressive countries in the world.
“Taiwan has internal and local peace though they are threatened by mainland China. It’s my dream to make a province a mini-Taiwan,” he revealed.
Meanwhile, Maj. General Rey Leonardo Guerrero, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, said the Armed Forces is still waiting for the directive from Malacañang for the declaration of Suspension of Offensive Military Operations (Somo) against rebel groups during the Christmas holidays.
Guerrero, who also attended the Pro-Pidu Stakeholders’ Forum, said the details and the exact date of the Somo will depend on Malacañang's decision.
The Army official also urged the communist rebels to abandon the armed struggle and join the mainstream society because the government has development programs to help them improve their lives. (with reports from TDE)