‘Gun ban, public help made event a success’

The gun ban, random checkpoints, the volunteers, and the public’s cooperation helped make the Nov. 30 thanksgiving Mass for Saint Pedro Calungsod a success.

Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo, Central Visayas police director, cited these as the factors that helped police maintain peace and order during the celebration attended by nearly a million people.

Garbo, who announced yesterday the lifting of the gun ban imposed since Nov. 25 as part of the security preparations for the event, said there were only minor incidents during the activity which included those who got their pocket picked, children who got lost, and people who fainted because of the heat.

Garbo said the security preparations involved at least 8,000 personnel including anti-crime volunteers and ROTC cadets from the different schools.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas sent a text message to Garbo congratulating those involved in the security preparations.

Garbo said that Cebu City Police Chief Melvin Ramon Buenafe and his men were well prepared to handle the security preparations./Correspondent Chito O. Aragon