CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- To ensure the safety and convenience of spectators, the Giant Lantern Festival (GLF) 2017 Executive Committee (ExeCom) will implement additional security measures and improved floor plan on the December 16 competition day of the “Ligligan Parul.”
This year’s chairperson, Virgilio Cortez, said the group will implement a crowd control system where ticket holders will be directed to fill up the front seats (yellow and green area) first to maximize the floor plan and avoid choking the entrance gates.
Unlike last year, Cortez said that this year’s distribution of tickets will start as early as 10 a.m. of December 16 at the Robinsons Starmills Arayat Atrium (near Il Padrino Café), and gates will officially open to the public at 4 p.m.
He said this year’s ticket design has been changed to prevent the repeat of last year’s incident where spectators used their 2015 event tickets and caused disorder in the floor plan, as well as to prevent unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of tourists by selling the previous year’s tickets. This year, the one-ticket per person will be strictly implemented.
Three entry points will also be utilized this year: the Candaba gate for blue ticket holders, Seaport gate for green ticket holders and main gate for red and yellow ticket holders, and for VIPs and other guests, said committee on physical arrangement head Engr. Marni Castro.
Castro also cited the additional 3,620-square-meter elevated viewing area that can accommodate as much as 5,000 persons. The area will be made available to the audience and covering media personnel in the front.
The GLF 2017 Executive Committee is also intensifying the security measures with more than 300 police personnel deployed in and around the venue during the whole competition period.
Backpacks are still not allowed, while camera drones will only be permitted if they secure necessary permits from the committee, Castro said.
Rotor operators, Castro added, must wear their designated color-coded T-shirts or they will be asked to go out of the venue.
A special traffic scheme inside the Robinsons Starmills and along Jose Abad Santos Avenue will also be implemented to avoid gridlocks and ensure the convenience of the expected 50,000 local and foreign tourists who will watch the event.
Mayor Edwin Santiago also asked the police force to secure the whole area and not let any unlawful individuals from disorganizing the event and cause bad impressions to tourists and VIP guests.
He ordered them to coordinate with the security personnel of Robinsons Starmills to ensure that the whole venue, including the vehicles parked around the mall, will be safe from any crimes.
“Our main priority here is the security and convenience of tourists who have travelled from different parts of the country and the world just to witness our very own giant lantern festival,” Santiago said.