The Philippine National Police Provincial Office has deployed augmentation troops to Dumaguete City beginning Friday as it stepped up security measures for the yearly Buglasan Festival of Festivals. {{more}}
Negros Oriental Provincial Police Director Sr. Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas briefed Vice Gov. Roel de Gamo and other officials on the security plan with thousands of local and foreign tourists expected to flock to Dumaguete, in a meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council.
Lawas said personnel from other units, such as the Special Weapons and Tactics team, the Explosives Ordnance Division, the Public Safety Company, and the Regional Public Safety Battalion, a company of which is stationed in Mabinay, Negros Oriental, have been deployed to boost the Dumaguete police station.
Two K-9 drug-and-bomb- sniffing dogs with four handlers from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency based in Cebu are also arrived Friday as part of the security preparations for the Buglasan Festival.
The request for the specially- trained “police dogs” is a precautionary measure on the heels of the recent hoax bomb threats in five areas of Dumaguete.
During the peace and order council meeting, Lawas admitted that the police in Negros Oriental do not have K-9 dogs and stressed the need to acquire them.
At least 70 personnel will be deployed daily at the Buglasan Festival venues, to include the contingency force which will be on stand-by but will be primarily tasked to respond immediately to any crisis, and static personnel will remain at their designated areas, he said.
Lawas also said their hands will be full in the coming two weeks as there are several major activities to be held in Dumaguete and adjacent areas with overlapping schedules, on top of the Oct. 25 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
These include the University Games that will reel off Oct. 24 and the 106th Founders Day anniversary celebration of St. Paul University-Dumaguete beginning Oct. 20.
Lawas appealed to the community to help contribute to the maintenance of peace and order during all these activities by providing information to the police, and to also institute security measures.
- Advertisement -