Police ready for Sinulog Festival

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Police Office director Patrocinio Comendador said all is set for the upcoming Sinulog Festival with the deployment of least 1,000 policemen during the Grand Parade.

“Human na na-tackle ang mga security plans especially for the preliminary activities and for the main event, the Grand Parade,” Comendador said.

Comendador, commander of the Task Force Sinulog, said they are enlisting names of police personnel to be assigned at the parade route.

About 150 members of the Regional Mobile Group-7 will augment the city policemen to be deployed in the city’s major thoroughfares during the big event.

All barangay officials and tanods, including the Police Auxiliary Group of the CCPO, will help in securing peace and order during the event. The Central Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is also in charge of crowd control.

Comendador said that 80 percent of the more than 1,000 CCPO personnel will be deployed in the streets while the remaining 20 percent will remain at the office and police stations.

The CCPO, he said, will also be in coordination with other police offices, which will conduct checkpoints in their respective areas.

Comendador said they will also have patrol cars following the parade to control the crowd. “We are already prepared.”

The police deployment will start during the “Walk for Jesus” at dawn on Thursday. A full alert status will be raised two days before the Grand Parade. – Niña G. Sumacot/LPM   (FREEMAN NEWS)