MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police will be on full alert starting Wednesday in anticipation of outbound motorist and commuter traffic, its spokesman, Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said Monday.
Speaking to reporters, Cruz Jr. said the PNP is currently on heightened alert level but will gear up to full alert status starting March 28 until April 10 “to maximize the deployment of police officers to places of convergence of people and to assist vacationers who will travel to their respective provinces.”
He said 5,000 police officers, whose vacation leaves would be canceled until early next month, will be deployed around Metro Manila to secure bus stations, airports, sea ports, malls, and churches, among other vital installations.
Cruz Jr. said PNP chief, Director General Nicanor Bartolome has instructed PNP Unit commanders to put up Police Assistance Centers (PAC) in strategic locations along national highways, primarily along the entire stretch of the Maharlika Highway from North to South Luzon, the Manila South Road from Manila to Bicol, the Manila East Road from Eastern Metro Manila to Northern Quezon, the Strong Republic Nautical Highway that passes through island provinces in Visayas and Mindanao, and other major thoroughfares. “The Highway Patrol Group (HPG) and Regional Police Offices will spearhead road safety operations in these areas,” he said.
He said the PACs will “will serve as quick-reaction points for police emergency and medical response, and advance command post for traffic management and road security operations,” he said, adding that all PACs are linked with Patrol 117 nationwide emergency telephone hotline, and the TXT PNP 2920 SMS hotline.
But so far, PNP has not received any particular threat that may compromise the security of people this Holy Week, he said.
“Even so, police will remain on guard,” he said.
The spokesman also said that PNP’s “Oplan SumVac 2012,” police’s nationwide security plan for the Holy Week up to the opening of classes in June, has likewise shifted to high gear over the weekend.
“This nationwide law enforcement and public safety plan will cover the entire 2 ½- month summer holiday season that began at the closing of the school year in March and will peak in the Holy Week in April and extend thru the Fiesta and Flores de Mayo season in May until the opening of classes in June,” Cruz Jr. said.
He said 50 percent of the140,000-strong PNP will be deployed as transport officials estimate a 30 percent, to 40 percent increase in commuter traffic via overland and inter-island modes of travel during the Holy Week.
“Oplan SumVac aims the promote travel safety among motorists and commuters, as well as both local and foreign travelers who will take make use of the summer holiday season to visit the country’s tourist destinations,” Bartolome said.
He said the operation includes mandatory security checks at airports, seaports, and bus terminals to guard against criminal and terrorist elements that may take advantage of the holiday rush.
Cruz Jr. said the Maritime Group and local police units were tasked to conduct seaborne security functions to assist in enforcing maritime laws and local ordinances that impose safety regulations in the operation of inter-island vessels and motorized boats that ferry passengers across bodies of water.
In Metro Manila, Oplan Bantay-Lakbay will be spearheaded by the National Capital Region Police Office in coordination with the Metro Manila Development Authority and local officials.
For residences in Manila that will be left unattended by its owners during their travel to provinces, Cruz Jr. said that Bartolome has tasked Police Stations Metro Manila and other urban centers to conduct preventive patrols and neighborhood watch to guard against criminal elements that may take advantage of unattended residences.