Tourist police set up for Sinulog

TOURIST police, saturation campaigns and Kaohsiung buses were among the security measures set in place in the runup to the Sinulog Grand Parade and Dance competition this Sunday.

Supt. Clifford Gairanod, public information officer (PIO) of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) said tourist police were designated to especially deal with both unruly domestic and foreign tourists.

Some of these tourist police personnel were taken from the Lapu-Lapu City police.

Senior Supt. Mariano Natu-el Jr., acting Cebu City police chief, said a dry run was held yesterday to fine tune their security preparations.

Flyers containing tips on how to protect oneself from robbers were also distributed to the public, Natu-el said.

The Sinulog route was divided into eight sectors for area security, crowd control and medical teams.

In yesterday’s Talakayang sa Isyung Police (TSIP), Natu-el said seven Kaoshiung buses set up along the Sinulog route will serve as temporary detention cells for troublemakers.

Aside from the Lapu-Lapu City police, the Cebu City police will be reinforced by personnel from the Regional Public Safety Management Batallion (RPSB), the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) and the Cebu provincial office.

Supt. Paul Labra II, chief of the Regional Intelligence Division (RID) told Cebu Daily News that saturation drives were done in barangays Duljo, Ermita, Camagayan and Pasil to flush out robbers, gambling and drug dealers.

Checkpoints in areas like V Rama Street and Banilad also monitor the presence of robbery and drug syndicates.

Natu-el clarified that only police and not anti-crime volunteers or auxilliary groups are allowed to search vehicles. Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos and Correspondent Chito Aragon