PNP: Christmas Eve festivities peaceful

MANILA, Philippines —  The celebration of Christmas Eve in the country was relatively peaceful, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported yesterday.

“Generally peaceful nationwide as no significant incident was recorded,” PNP public information officer Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo told reporters in a message on Viber.

Over 37,000 police officers were mobilized and deployed in transportation hubs, seaports, airports, major thoroughfares, malls, other commercial establishments and vital installations.

In Quezon City, the nine-day Simbang Gabi from Dec. 16 to 24 concluded without any untoward incident.

Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Col. Melecio Buslig Jr. attributed the peaceful outcome of the Simbang Gabi to their well-coordinated security measures.

Buslig said 216 police officers secured churches and chapels, which ensured the safety of thousands of devotees.

He also lauded the city government for assisting police officers with 264 force multipliers in securing Simbang Gabi.

Meanwhile, to reduce the chances of flight delays, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is posting on its official social media accounts real time updates on the volume of passengers at the immigration counters at international airports this holiday season.

In a statement issued yesterday, Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said they post updates to help passengers make their travel plans to the airport, given the heavy traffic, and make sure that they have ample time to go through the process and not miss their flights.

The bureau earlier reported that it expects around 110,000 daily arrivals and departures during the holiday season.  –  Evelyn Macairan