Security measures for quincentenary celebration of Christianity in place

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The  Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said that security measures for the celebration of 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines are already set here.

According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy for operations of the CCPO, security measures are already in place for the kick off on April 4, 2021.

The celebration will span up to April 2022.

“Ang atoang pagpangandam sa quincentennial activity starting karong April 4, han-ay na,” he said.

(Our [security] preparation for the quincentennial activity that starts April 4 is all in place) 

However, Parilla said they have a slight problem with manpower for one of the activities. 

He said they need at least 300 additional police personnel to complete their 700 police deployment for the motorcade. 

“Sa atong scheduled activities, duna lang ta’y usa ka adlaw nga nagkinahanglan ta ug augmentation. Kini atoang motorcade nga mag gikan diri sa Cebu, mutuyok sa Mandaue ug Lapu-Lapu,” said Parilla.

(In the schedule of activities, there’s just one day where we will need augmentation. This is the motorcade which will start here in Cebu City and circle around to Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City.)

Parilla said they already requested at least 300 police personnel from the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) for this motorcade. 

Health protocols

Aside from these events, Parilla said the police will also monitor private establishments assigned to hold cultural activities in line with the celebration. He said police have already coordinated with the security forces of these establishments. 

Aside from keeping areas of the celebration secure from criminals, Parilla said one of the concerns that police will monitor is the compliance of health protocols in these areas.

“Bisan gamay ra atong activities, daghan tang personnel nga nagbantay. This is also to ensure nga dili lang anti-criminality ang bantayan but [also compliance to health protocols],” said Parilla. 

(Even if there are only a few activities, a lot of personnel will be watching. This is also to ensure that police will not only be implementing anti-criminality measures, but also compliance to health protocols.)

He said law enforcers will ensure strict crowd monitoring during the celebration to prevent further transmission of the COVID-19  virus. 

“Dili ta mutugot nga mao na sad ni ang mahimong rason nga mutaas nasad atong positive cases,” said Parilla. 

(We won’t let this activity be the reason for another rise in the number of positive cases.)

Read: 100-day countdown for 500 Years of Christianity starts

/bmjo