Garma: cops on crowd control duty got blisters holding on to ropes; need gloves

Cebu City policemen and volunteers find themselves in need of pairs of gloves to avoid getting blisters while holding the rope lines that stopped the crowd from crossing to the streets where contingents to the Sinulog grand parade on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, are doing their dance presentations.| Photo by Delta Dyrecka Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — There are not enough gloves.

Senior Superintendent Royina Garma, director of the Cebu City Police Office, said that they spent a part of the P400,000 cash aid from the Cebu city government to  purchase ropes to be used as a crowd control rope line during the mardi gras-like grand parade this Sunday, January 20.

But they did not anticipate that the cops and volunteers would also need a lot of gloves as they try to control crowd, which, Garma estimated, has reached close to two million before noon today despite the rain spawned by Tropical Depression “Amang.”

“Na-notice namin na nasasaktan ang mga nagbabantay sa cordon kasi sa friction ng pisi sa kamot. So nagpalit mi og gloves para nila,” said Garma.

(We noticed that the policemen and force multipliers who are manning the crowd control ropes were getting hurt because of the friction of the rope on their hands. So we bought gloves)

However, Garma said the number of gloves they were able to buy were not enough for the 3,000 personnel, including police personnel, on rope line duty.

Garma said that they priotized the police along the areas with heavier crowd.

Garma supervised the cordon line prior to the opening of the grand parade.

She said that the people could help the police a lot if only they would abide with the rules and do not insist on crossing the cordon for whatever reasons. /elb