Close to 3,000 police officers from the Police Regional Office (PRO-6) will secure the staging of two major festivals in Aklan and Iloilo this month.
“PRO-6 is all set with its security deployment plan for the upcoming Ati-Atihan Festival and the Dinagyang Festival. For our Ati-Atihan Festival, we will deploy 44 police commissioned officers and 2,324 police non-commissioned officers to man the various activity areas,” said PRO-6 spokesperson Major Mary Grace Borio on Wednesday, Jan. 10.
The regional headquarters will deploy 76 commissioned and 2,370 non-commissioned officers to secure venues for the various events of the Dinagyang Festival.
“There is additional deployment from augmentation forces and force multipliers that are helping the Philippine National Police secure these kinds of festivals,” she added.
The Ati-Atihan Festival, dubbed the country’s “mother of all festivals,” held in honor of Señor Santo Niño kicked off Jan. 3 with the opening liturgy and blessings of instruments.
Among the events lined up for the festival are the novena prayer and masses, circuit bike race, “Color my Ati,” barangays’ parade, Ati-Atihan bazar, product expo, food festival, Ati-Atihan nights, street dance, “Barter of Panay,” and Sadsad Ati-Atihan, among others.
The Dinagyang Festival, on the other hand, has four major events, including the Kasadyahan sa Kabanwahanan, Ati Tribes competition, Sadsad sa Calle Real, and Dinagyang ILOmination street dance competition set on Jan. 27-28.
In a separate interview, Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (IFFI) executive director Joyce Clavecillas echoed the calls made by the city government not to impose signal jamming during the festival highlights, believing that the police are capable of maintaining peace and order during the events.
She said they have yet to receive feedback for the request sent to the PNP last month.Perla Lena/PNA
