The Police Regional Office (PRO)- Western Visayas is still assessing if the signal jamming will be implemented during the highlights of the 45th edition of the MassKara Festival in Bacolod City.
Police Brigadier General Jack Wanky, director of PRO-6, said for him, there’s no need to implement the signal jamming because it causes inconvenience to the revelers.
“We are still assessing because it could create a problem if we don’t have a signal. So far, we’ve not seen that the activation of signal would be a threat,” he said.
He added that the PRO-6 would augment at least 900 policemen to ensure the peace and order of the festival.
The festival will be open from October 12 until 27.
Wanky said everybody should enjoy and they expect “zero fatality” for this year’s festival.
He said they are also waiting for the approval of the gun ban or suspension of permits to carry firearms outside the residence to prevent any firearms-related incidents during the duration of the festival.
Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Vargas, chief of the City Operations Management Unit (COMU) of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), earlier said they will deploy a total of 1, 828 security personnel to ensure peace and order during the festival.
He said security personnel will be deployed to the city's identified festival sites, such as Bacolod City Public Plaza, Bacolod City Government Center, Lacson Strip, and Megaworld's The Upper East.
Moreover, Wanky also ordered the BCPO to intensify their operations against illegal drugs during the festival.
“ Record shows that during the festivities, it’s also the time of the drug personalities to market so we need to double our effort to neutralize them,” he said.
He added the police were tasked to monitor the sea ports including terminals. /MAP