Security in place for Sinulog

CEBU, Philippines - The Central Command, as crowd control front liner, is now ready with security preparations for the Sinulog celebration next week.

Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus, spokesman of the Centcom, said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines will be deploying 500 personnel composed of regular troops to include the Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Navy.

About 5,000 reservists from all over the province will also be augmented.

Tampus said that like the previous years, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and the Civic Welfare Training Service of different schools will also be coordinating with them.

“Ang deployment sa ROTC part na sa route sa Sinulog which is five kilometers naa pud nay CWTS… magtinabangay lang gud ta. (The deployment of ROTC and CWTS is part of the five-kilometer route. Let us help each other),” Tampus said.

The deployment starts as early as 5:00 in the morning until the parade ends.

“The Central Command would always help so that the celebration of the Sinulog will be successful,” Tampus said.

Recently, the Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 declared a red alert status until January 17 in the entire Cebu Province.

Even if Cebu Province is under red alert, other neighboring provinces will also cooperate in providing security.

About 100 personnel from the Special Reaction Unit, Provincial Mobile Group, and from the Cebu Provincial Police Office headquarters are ready for deployment.

The remaining personnel in the province will be monitoring the influx of devotees as well as local and international tourists.

Sr. Supt. Erson Digal, chief of the Regional Operations and Plans Division, reminded those who will be coming over for the Sinulog celebration to secure and to be more careful with their belongings and report suspicious people to any police personnel on standby.

Meanwhile, for successfully leading the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), former CCPO director Melvin Ramon Buenafe received the Medalya ng Kasanayan (PNP Efficiency Medal) from the Police Regional Office 7 in a brief ceremony yesterday.

PRO 7’s Deputy Regional Director for Administration Samuel Yordan and Regional Operations and Plans Division chief Erson Digal conferred the PNP medal to Buenafe.

Buenafe left his post as director of CCPO last December 26 and is now reassigned as directorate for operations at the Public Safety Division in Camp Crame.

He said there has been a lot of challenges in CCPO way back then, that he had to formulate strategies to be able to enjoin all policemen to cooperate.

“It was my first time na maging commander of a highly urbanized area. I’ve been a provincial director sa Negros and magkaiba ang situation pati kultura. There were challenges to face and adjustments to be made,” Buenafe recalled.

Even in Camp Crame, Buenafe said he will always be looking over  Cebu.  As a matter of fact, he is also involved in securing the Sinulog Festival this year.

“We are monitoring also. I will be coming over. Aside from monitoring, we will have time to enjoy the Sinulog,” he said.

He said they may apply the security arrangements that they have made last year that resulted to a very peaceful Sinulog festivities, including the use of security cameras, establishing motorcycle and bike patrol, gun ban, and crowd control, among others. —MIT (FREEMAN)