MORE than 6,000 policemen and force multipliers will be fielded by the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7) throughout the Central Visayas during the Holy Week.
According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesperson for PRO 7 Director Brigadier General Anthony Aberin, the police personnel will first undergo simulation exercises, communication exercises and other activities prior to their deployment to ensure the seamless execution of providing security in churches and other locations such as bus terminals and ports where they will be assigned.
The deployment of police officers will begin a week before Holy Week.
"We have already conducted our initial planing and nag implement natag mga precautionary measures for the upcoming Holy Week. Actually, we consider it very important kining whole summer vacation not only the Holy Week but most of the security measures are to be implemented during the Holy Week," Pelare said.
One of the areas that the police want to safeguard is Bantayan Island, where local and foreign tourists are expected to swarm to spend their vacations, either to join the procession or beach parties.
According to Pelare, they already have a security plan in place for Bantayan Island to prevent a repeat of the incident from the previous year, in which a number of tourists fell victim to a scam involving resort bookings online by paying in advance only to discover that their reservations had not been registered and they had to look for alternative accommodations.
As a result, the police coordinated with the Department of Tourism (DOT) to stop those tour operators who want to cheat on social media.
To keep an eye on criminals from other places who plan to cross Bantayan Island to prey on tourists, a few police officers dressed in civilian clothes will be stationed there.
A few days before the Holy Week, Pelare said they will elevate the alert status from normal to full alert, meaning that all police personnel will be required to report to work. (AYB, TPT)