CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City government has assured to give its full support to the grand rally of Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) tomorrow where a massive crowd is expected to converge at the Cebu City Sports Center due to expected presence of some celebrities from Manila.
Senate President and vice presidential candidate Vicente “Tito” Sotto III will be joining the rally with some celebrity host of the popular noontime television show—Eat Bulaga.
The city government headed by Mayor Michael Rama committed to assist the event setting aside political colors. Rama, who is running for mayor in the May 9, 2022 elections, will be challenged by BOPK’s standard bearer—former councilor Margot Osmeña.
Lawyer Gerardo Carillo, chairman of Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, said he had met with the organizers of the event to discuss the initial security plans. Carillo said they have taken into consideration the lessons they learned from the “Arat Na Cebu” concert last weekend.
The CCDRRMC will be putting up barricades and inspection sites to ensure everyone’s safety and smooth flow of people entering the venue. Separate entrances will be provided for VIPs and the general public. A third entrance will also be designated for emergency use.
“Among gitan-aw these are the three gates that we will also open up as soon as modaghan ang tawo,” Carillo said of their preparations.
Councilor Joel Garganera, Emergency Operations Center’s deputy chief implementer, said they will deploy close to 400 police personnel to secure the event on Saturday. A response team from the EOC will also serve as augmentation.
Garganera reiterated that big gatherings are now allowed under alert level 1 as long as it is done in an open area. He hopes that tomorrow’s attendees will observe the health protocols by always wearing face mask and if possible fully vaccinated. He also discouraged tagging along minors in the venue for safety reason.
“This is a shared responsibility kitang tanan nga moadto ug kinsay mo-attend aduna moy responsibilidad, accountable mo sa inyong actions and of course let us behave properly kay daghan unya kinabuhi maamong kung pananglitan out of control atong pagpahigayon unya, but I wish them all the best, I wish nga maayo unta ang pagpahigayon unya compliant ang mga tawo,” said Garganera. — Decemay Padilla, FPL (FREEMAN)