Pasigarbo peaceful but pace was ‘slow’

CEBU, Philippines — Even with the unexpected number of revelers who came to see the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo on Sunday, police assessed the whole event as “generally peaceful,” although the pacing was “slow.”

Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Colonel Roderick Mariano told The FREEMAN yesterday that no untoward incident was recorded throughout the proceedings from 1 p.m. Sunday until the end of ritual showdown dawn of the following day.

“The activity yesterday was generally peaceful. We have not heard of any untoward incidents during the conduct of the Pasigarbo,” he said.

Police estimated that the crowd reached 18,000 with nearly three-fourths staying at the grandstand of the Cebu City Sports Center.

Mariano said they made some adjustments in their security protocol by guiding the participants to the exit gate of the sports center which some spectators also used as their entrance.

“Sa paglabas lang ng mga participants in going to exit dahil sa highway dahil pumapasok naman ng iba (Some people used the exit to get in, so we made sure the security procedures remained strict),” he said.

Nevertheless, Mariano emphasized they had everything under control.

Over a thousand police personnel from the CPPO, Cebu City Police Office, and other force multipliers were deployed to ensure peace and order during the event, which has been dubbed as Cebu’s “Festival of Festivals.”

The Pasigarbo assembled contingents representing 44 towns and component cities of the province.

Mariano said the event lasted longer than expected maybe because of the slow pace and gathering of the contingents and judges.

“Matagal siguro doon sa pacing. Pangalawa, napakarami ng ating participants (we had a lot of participants),” he said.

Mariano said his men took turns in ensuring security of their assigned spots.

“Lahat nakapagpahinga naman (They were able to rest). Let’s say natapos doon sa sector one, pumunta sila doon sa command post natin sa may Fuente para kumain,” he said.

With the success of the security measures, Mariano expressed his gratitude to the police personnel who actively played their part in the event.

“Unang una, nung bago matapos ang street dancing, yung mga areas na daan na may mga pulis, nag-accounting ulit tayo sa kanila. Ganun din nung madaling araw. Nagpasalamat tayo, nagpasalamat sila kasi sa magandang security operations na ating ginawa. Masaya at may ngiti sa kanilang mga labi,” he said.

(Before the street dancing, all our men were accounted for. It was the same thing during the end, dawn Monday. We are thankful to them for the good security operation.) (FREEMAN)