The send-off ceremony for more than 3,500 security forces for the 459th Señor and Sinulog Festival 2024 at the SM Seaside Concert Ground on Wednesday morning, January 10, 2024.
CEBU CITY, Philippines – More than 3,500 security forces were sent off on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, to secure the 495th Fiesta Señor and Sinulog Festival celebrations.
The send-off ceremony was held at the SM Seaside Concert Ground and was attended by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.
A priest blesses more than 3,500 security personal tasked to make sure that the Sinulog celebration will be orderly and peaceful. | Emmariel Ares
The troops, who were from the different security agencies, were blessed by Reverend Father Nelson Zerda of the Augustinian Friars of the Basilica Minore Del Santo Niño during the program.
He also blessed the K9 units and vehicles which will be utilized during their deployment for the upcoming festivities.
Police Colonel Ireneo B. Dalogdog, City Director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), told reporters that their security measures have already been established.
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The celebration is set to begin on Thursday, January 11, with the solemn Walk with Jesus at the Basilica.
Dalogdog disclosed that in consideration of the possible changes during each scheduled event, police will continue to plan and make the necessary adjustments in the number of deployed personnel.
He also said that they remain grateful of the Police Regional Office 7’s support for the special occasion by turning over security personnel.
Furthermore, Dalogdog disclosed that the Sinulog security plans will not be declared 100 percent complete until the start of the festivities.
However, he assured that every event will be secured by a sufficient amount of personnel to keep the contingents and attendees safe from any harm.
According to Dalogdog, they will also be conducting a simulation a day before the events to inspect if the placement of the personnel is followed.
CCPO Deputy Director for Operations Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, for her part, said that they will be relentless in their efforts to control the crowd.
She disclosed that for this year’s celebration, they are expecting the Sinulog crowd to grow twice or three times more than it was in 2023.
“A day before the activities, we have to conduct the dry run and that this time, we really have to be relentless. We really have to enforce especially along the routes and especially sa crowd control,” said Rafter.
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Meanwhile, the PRO-7 has already established their intelligence fusion with other security agencies.
This was according to PRO-7 spokesperson Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare.
Pelare disclosed that as of this writing, they have not monitored any potential threats to the Sinulog celebration.
“We have no monitored threats but of course, considering the events unfolding in other areas, we are raising our precautionary measures,” stated Pelare.
He further stated that Central Visayas is now in a heightened alert and will be elevated to a full alert status once the activities begin.
In addition to this, Colonel Erwin Lamzon, commander of Joint Task Group (JTG) and the 3rd Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), told reporters that the current downward trend in insurgency is not experienced in Cebu.
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“As against threats, there is now a downward trend in terms of insurgency but not felt in Cebu island. It is in the other parts of Region 7, specific to Negros, specific to outside Region 8 sa Samar-Leyte,” stated Lamzon.
On the other hand, Lamzon shared that they fielded almost a thousand regular personnel, reservists, and Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadets, to assist with crowd control for Sinulog Festival 2024.