EDITORIAL - Order during parade gave way to chaos afterward

By most accounts, and from actual observation and experience, the security aspect of the recently-held Sinulog was a big success by any measure. There were few incidents, if at all, and there was largely order. So congratulations to those in charge of the security.

This early, however, we would like to make a suggestion, so that security officials can consider it way ahead and hopefully agree with our concern and implement measures by the time the next Sinulog swings around.

As can be noted by everyone, security personnel were all around during the Sinulog parade. Policemen, military men, student cadets and barangay tanods were everywhere, providing security all throughout the activity. And that is good.

But by the end of the parade, and as the evening wore on into night, and night into dawn, there was hardly any more security personnel around, at a time when the partying was in full swing and almost everybody was getting high on booze and whatever else.

In other words, if the daytime security personnel had to be pulled out to give them rest from what was undoubtedly a very long and stressful day, fresh reinforcements should have been plowed right in to replace them.

For once the parade was over, the peace, security and order that characterized it literally collpsed and vaporized. Chaos descended as the crowds (by some estimates more than two million) took over the streets and it was every man for himself, in cars or on foot.

The traffic was terrible. Motorists got blocked by the crowds who, emboldened by alcohol, refused to give way. And they could not press their way forward for fear of getting mobbed by the crowds.

The only sense of order noticeable after the parade was the swift action of the streetcleaners (heaven bless them) in making sure the streets were as they were by the break of the new day and a few Citom enforcers at a few bottlenecks.

But in many parts of the city, especially in the uptown areas, the security personnel so visible during the parade were no longer anywhere. This must not be. The alcohol-fired hours after the parade should in fact merit more security concerns than the parade itself.