The Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) said Thursday that 80 percent of its force was deployed for the Holy Week observance.
Lt. Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of NOPPO, said the provincial police tightened their security measures in anticipation of large crowds during the observance of the Holy Week and because the New People’s Army marked its 55th founding anniversary on Good Friday, March 29.
“Out of the roughly 1,500 police personnel in the province, 80 percent of them have been directed to report for duty on these days with no one allowed to go on leave,” Polinar said.
On top of the different police stations’ manpower being utilized to the maximum, NOPPO also placed on standby quick reaction units, such as the Provincial Mobile Force Companies, for immediate deployment when necessary.
Polinar said foot and mobile patrols were deployed to places of convergence such as churches, the airport, sea ports, and bus terminals with police assistance desks also established in these areas.
Checkpoints were also set up in cooperation with the Highway Patrol Group, the Land Transportation Office, the Philippine Army, and other security forces to ensure public safety, he added.
Lt. Col. Evelio Ilanga, commanding officer of the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion, said that while the PNP took the lead in law enforcement, the Philippine Army was on standby to provide support anytime to secure the communities, especially since the NPA was marking its anniversary last Friday.
Ilanga said military operations continued, such as intelligence gathering and combat operations even during Holy Week.
He added the military would not let their guard down as remnants of the weakened NPA’s Central Negros 1 guerilla front could still engage in violent activities to project presence. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
