Police brace for huge volume of tourists on Sinulog day

CEBU, Philippines - Tourist action centers, desks, and command posts will be set up all over the city this Sunday for the Sinulog grand parade.

Senior Supt. Ernesto Agas, head of the Regional Operations and Plans Division which operates Task Force Turista, said they anticipate a bigger volume of local and international tourists to join the Sinulog revelries.

Agas said that tourist centers have also been set up in other parts of the region to cater the needs of the tourists.

 “There are tourist action centers na makikita ninyo regionwide which will be ready enough to provide the needs of the tourists,” Agas said.

Agas said that advanced command posts will also be set up in each of the eight sectors of the parade route. These posts will be manned by policemen who will cater to the complaints and other concerns of the public especially of the tourists.

Tourists can also report to the tourist desks in the 11 police stations under the Cebu City Police Office.

Chief Supt. Ager Ontog, director of Police Regional Office-7, said the Sinulog festival is not just a local celebration. It is an international event that never fails to draw a big crowd including several foreigners.

“We’re aware of the great task that’s why we’ve prepared very early, as early as few months ago,” Ontog said, adding that they will be having a massive deployment of troops.

The PRO-7 director said that even the policemen in Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor are tasked to help as look-out to Cebu for any criminal element that will mar the big event.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District is setting up 21 drinking stations along the parade route to provide the public with potable water.

Charmaine Rodriguez, MCWD public affairs department manager, said the faucets will be set up on Friday but will be used only on the Sinulog day.

She appealed to the barangay officials and concerned residents to help secure the faucets saying that every year they had to lose some faucets to thieves.

Rodriguez said they have set up the same number of water stab outs last year but three were stolen before the grand parade which affected their operation.

During the grand parade MCWD will assign volunteers to each drinking station to ensure there will be no abuse. Everyone is free to get drinking water until their supply of plastic cups lasts.

Rodriguez assured that the water will be safe to drink as it will undergo the chlorination process to make it potable.

The water that will be consumed will be accounted but the organizers of the Sinulog Festival will not be charged even a single centavo.

MCWD has been providing free water along the parade route for years as a form of public service. They will also provide free water to devotees at the Devotee City. —

(FREEMAN)