PNP intensifies anti-crime campaign during Yuletide season

MANILA, Philippines - With only 20 days before Christmas, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has intensified its anti-crime campaign by improving police visibility in public places.

PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said churches should also be secured because millions are expected to attend the traditional 10-day Simbang Gabi. 

“The PNP vows to keep the nation safe as Christians celebrate the Yuletide season. We will intensify all police operations and will use all our resources and manpower just to make sure that the holidays will be peaceful and merry,” Bartolome said.

The PNP is also preparing for the heavy influx of balikbayans and tourists who will celebrate the Yuletide season in the country.

Bartolome directed his commanders to intensify patrolling and to deploy administrative personal to augment beat patrol personnel.

Aside from the 140,000-strong police force, Bartolome said the PNP had also tapped the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Teams (BPATs), accredited non-government organizations and radio groups to assist the police in providing public assistance and traffic management in major thoroughfares nationwide.

The intensified police operations will last until January to ensure public safety during the holiday season.

The PNP will also establish “assistance hubs” in all major airports, seaports, and transport terminals. These help centers will operate 24 hours a day seven days a week.

The police force has also cooperated with the Department of Health to monitor the transport of illegal fireworks to prevent firecracker related incidents.

300,000 expatriates, tourists this season

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is expecting some 300,000 balikbayan and foreign tourists to arrive in the country this season.

Tourism Assistant Secretary Benito Bengzon said the department has lined up various activities and also deployed tourist police in preparation for the influx of local and foreign tourists in various destinations in the country.                                    

The months of November to February have traditionally been the peak season for the tourism industry.                              

The bulk of the arrivals this month will be overseas Filipino workers who will spend Christmas with their families.             

Bengzon said the DOT is mounting a concert for balikbayans at Greenbelt 3 featuring the Manila Symphony Orchestra. Balikbayans will also be given discount coupons and SIM cards.   

The DOT earlier re-launched its balikbayan program to encourage expatriates to visit the country as tourists, thus enabling the government to achieve 25 percent growth in tourist arrivals.   

Tourism officials have said that expatriates have always been a significant contributor to visitor arrivals every year, especially those from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Japan.                          Bengzon said the DOT has recorded a continuing increase in the number of international arrivals for the past months.      – With Mayen Jaymalin                         

As of September, the DOT recorded a total of 2,887,715 foreign visitors or a 12 percent increase from the foreign arrivals of 2,577,775 during the same period last year.                

Based on the current trend, the DOT expects to exceed the target arrivals of 3.7 million by the end of the year.                          

To provide protection for the huge number of foreign tourists coming during the holidays, Bengzon said the DOT deployed more than 1,200 police officers in 19 major destinations nationwide.                                   

These police officers had undergone special training under the government’s Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP) program.