Over 2,000 cops deployed for ‘Undas’

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City –  Police here and in Negros Occidental will deploy more than 2,000 personnel to ensure the safety of the public during the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 1 and 2, respectively.

Police Lieutenant Judesses Catalogo, public information officer of Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo), said 90 percent or at least 1,500 personnel of their total population will be deployed starting Oct. 31.

Catalogo said two policemen will be assigned to police assistance desks (PADs) in major convergence areas such as transport terminals, public markets, churches, and cemeteries.

They will be assisted by some force multipliers and barangay watchmen in their respective areas, he added.

Catalogo said augmentation forces from Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 will be distributed to various police stations depending on the volume of people in cemeteries.

The deployment of personnel will be in effect until the morning of Nov. 3.

Catalogo also said that the provincial police office has been on full alert status since the series of encounters between the military troopers and the New People’s Army (NPA) in Himamaylan City on Oct. 6. “We’re in defensive mode,” he added.

He also reminded the public that bringing of firearms, bladed weapons, and liquor is strictly prohibited. Gambling and use of loud music or videoke are also not allowed.

Meanwhile, Police Lieutenant Liberty Indiape, deputy public information officer of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), said that deployment of personnel here started on Oct. 28.

Indiape said that the presence of policemen was visible in shopping malls, terminals, seaports, and cemeteries, especially with the recent onslaught of Tropical Storm “Paeng.”

Indiape said that 14 policemen from PRO-6, Mobile Patrol Unit and the Bacolod City Mobile Force Company will also augment the BCPO personnel, depending on the need of every police station.

She said that these personnel will be deployed until Nov. 5 or until there’s still an influx of people in cemeteries.

Further, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here and in the province are strengthening their measures in seaports and transport terminals as they anticipate the influx of passengers who will go home and visit their loved ones.