THE Cebu City police said it was “generally peaceful” during the weeklong Philippine National Games 2018 that was co-hosted by Cebu City and Cebu province.
Senior Supt. Joel Doria, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) director, said the police were able to keep the athletes and other members of different delegations safe by monitoring all the activities of the meet and deploying almost 500 forces to keep a close watch on the different venues.
“In place yung mga security natin. Minomonitor talaga natin yung lahat ng activities,” said Doria. (Our security was in place. We really monitored all the activities of the event.)
Around 4,000 athletes, coaches and officials from different regions and provinces around the country participated in the meet, which was held in Cebu City and Cebu Province for the first time in 21 years.
“Our instruction to the station commanders was specific. And that is to secure [the participants],” Doria added. “Regular din ‘yung reporting natin. Every hour (of the day). May mga situation update tayo. Maraming location pero na-cover natin lahat ‘yun.” (Reporting was done regularly. Every hour of the day. We also have situation updates. There were many locations but we covered it all.)
The meet came off the wraps on May 19 at the Cebu City Sports Center with President Rodrigo Duterte present as Guest of Honor. Games ended yesterday.
Doria said police will continue to look out for the athletes until they return to their respective towns and cities. /CNU Intern Laksmi Cañedo