Siomai Festival draws 7k visitors

CEBU, Philippines — An estimated 7,000 people attended the Siomai Festival in Barangay Tisa last Saturday, September 26, with no major untoward incident reported during the celebration, according to the Cebu City Police Office.

In a statement, Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, deputy city director for Operations, said security and traffic operations remained in place throughout the event to help ensure the orderly conduct of the festivities, including the street dancing that drew thousands of spectators.

The police office deployed 88 personnel under the supervision of Police Captain Meryl Causin, officer-in-charge of the Labangon Police Station and ground commander for the festival.

Their assignments included securing the festival venue and surrounding routes, managing traffic, responding to emergencies, maintaining covert security, and carrying out explosive ordnance safety measures.

The police contingent was backed by 60 force multipliers, as well as personnel from the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Cebu City Transportation Office, Barangay Public Safety Officers, and the Barangay Tisa medical team.

Authorities said the combined deployment strengthened emergency response, traffic control, crowd management, community assistance, and medical readiness throughout the celebration.

Police officers also conducted foot and mobile patrols while coordinating with barangay officials and event organizers to monitor crowd movement and maintain peace and order.

Traffic enforcers implemented road closures and rerouting along affected roads to accommodate festival activities and ease the movement of vehicles and pedestrians.

Meanwhile, CCPO acting City Director Police Colonel Ricky Sumalde visited the festival site to inspect security operations and assess the readiness of deployed personnel.

During the inspection, he reviewed police visibility, crowd movement, security implementation, and the preparedness of officers to respond to any incident that might arise during the celebration.

The CCPO said the festival concluded peacefully despite the large turnout. — (FREEMAN)