Cebu City Police ‘100% ready’ for Sinulog 2020 – Soriano

Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano, acting Cebu City Police Office director, shares his plans for the his new post. | Gerard Francisco

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), which will supervise the security measures for the Sinulog 2020 activities, has declared it is now 100 percent ready for the coming celebration.

After the the final coordination meeting with the Sinulog Foundation Incorporated (SFI) on Friday, January 3, 2020, Police Colonel Engelbert Soriano, officer-in-charge of CCPO, said that their security plans for the events are ready and will be up for simulations by next week.

The simulations will show how the police will respond to unexpected situations and to ensure proper coordination among units involved in securing the Sinulog-related events, he added.

Soriano said that the resources needed by the police – including fire trucks, ambulance, patrol cars, k9 explosive detection dogs –  to effectively perform strict and emergency-ready security have all been acquired by CCPO.

The ban on backpacks inside the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño and at the Cebu City Sports Complex was also finalized.

The Basilica is expected to be packed with pilgrims and devotees all through the week prior to the Feast of the Santo Niño on January 19 while the CCSC will be the main staging point and venue for the finale of the Sinulog grand parade, also set on January 19.

Aside from the ban on backpacks, Soriano said they will not allow the entry into the Basilica of persons who carry bags that are not made of “clear” material.

The “clear bag” policy, jointly decided by the CPPO, the SFI and the Basilica administration,  was announced on Friday through the SFI Facebook page.  It was met with criticisms by some netizens but the concerned authorities said the policy stays.

Read more: Netizens slam Basilica’s new ‘Clear Bag’ policy for Sinulog

To fully secure the Sinulog events, Soriano said least 2,000 police personnel from other parts of Cebu and provinces in Central Visayas will join the CCPO as augmentation force from the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7).

According to Soriano, around 10,000 to 12,000 volunteers that will be needed to assist the police on the events scheduled during the Sinulog Festival activities and events that will kick off on January 9 and culminate in grand parade on January 19.

Soriano said they would want to be ready for any kind of threat in each of these events, given the influx of people expected in these activities.

But he also assured that their security plans and their personnel will be able to keep the public safe.

“Nothing to worry as long as we get the support of the public at large,” said Soriano./elb