THE Police Regional Office (PRO)-Zamboanga Peninsula is deploying security forces across the region during the Labor Day celebration on May 1.
The deployment will be done to keep the region safe in case various groups or organizations, including threat groups, hold mass and untoward actions that might disrupt peace and order.
Police Brigadier General Froilan Quidilla, PRO-Zamboanga Peninsula director, said the deployment of police forces amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic will also be done to make sure that the Labor Day observance will be free of violence and will not violate the guidelines of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), especially on the aspect of physical distancing.
Quidilla said the Labor Day is celebrated peacefully in the region, as the local government units and other government agencies fittingly pay tribute to the Filipino workforce.
Quidilla said they will strategically deploy additional personnel to cover other aspects of police operation such as traffic management, civil disturbance management, anti-criminality and counter-terrorism, emergency response and other necessary measures for an orderly, peaceful and successful Labor Day celebration.
He also discouraged the different groups or organizations from holding mass actions, as the ECQ is still in effect in the entire region.
The ECQ prohibits mass gatherings.
He ordered all the provincial and city directors to implement the security preparations for the observance of Labor Day in their respective places.
He appealed to the public to be alert and report immediately to the police any suspicious person or activities through the PRO-Zamboanga Peninsula hotline 0997-3102-365 or 0961-2877-064. (SunStar Zamboanga)