CEBU, Philippines — At least five “petty” crimes were reported committed during Monday’s grand rally of UniTeam in Cebu City while a number of supporters also experienced dizziness, the Cebu City Police Office said.
Police Lt. Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for operations of CCPO, said that while the rally was peaceful as a whole, they received reports of theft incidents during the event.
“Sama sa mga naay nawagtangan og cellphone, pitaka, but minimal ra jud kaayo,” said Parilla.
Although no specific number was given, Parilla also said they received reports of participants who felt dizzy and collapsed during the event.
“Especially sa mga may edad, tungod sa kainit. Even gani ang katong mga galakaw pa lang kay taas kaayo ang area, daghan kaayo ang wala ma-inform, especially tung mga gikan sa province nga supposed to be ang senior citizens, ilahi sila, dili sila didto sa open,” said Parilla.
There were medical responders on standby, though, according to Parilla.
Further, Parilla insisted that their latest crowd estimate was 200,000 individuals at around 9 p.m. This only includes the participants at the venue – Citi de Mare.
It was reported that the crowd capacity of the venue, Citi De Mare, is only up to 120,000 individuals.
This was also based on the aerial photo by the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO).
“Ang area man gud, dili lang gyud to siya confined sa iyang intended na area but atong makita sa aerial video, if you look at sa mga side outside sa venue, perti gihapon daghanang tawo, especially sa mga alleys, sa mga dan, daghan gihapon og mga tawo,” said Parilla.
To include the participants outside the venue from the beginning of the program until its end, Parilla said the total crowd estimate reached 300,000.
Trash
Meanwhile, lawyer John Jigo Dacua, head of the Department of Public Services (DPS), said the city government collected six truck-loads of trash after the UniTeam grand rally at the SRP.
Dacua, however, was not able to provide an exact data on the tons of garbage collected at the venue.
“Dili ko kahatag ug exact data kay ang nahitabo, naa man gud trucks naa sulod daan amo gipahapit. Naa pud trucks na wala pay sulod but amo gihapit sa uban areas,” he explained.
The garbage collection started at about 11 p.m. and finished at almost 4 a.m.
Dacua said it was a joint effort of DPS, Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), City Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET). Around 250 personnel from the three offices were deployed in the area.
“Ang gusto man gud Mayor Mike (Rama) nga di ma hayagan limpyo na,” said Dacua. —Mary Ruth R. Malinao/JMD (FREEMAN)