At least 70,000 cops will be deployed nationwide starting April to keep vacationers and tourists safe during the summer, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
Expecting that more foreigners and locals will visit tourist destinations, the PNP will send more police officers to the ground compared last year when it deployed 65,000 cops across the country.
This was because of the successful hosting by the Philippines of major international events like Miss Universe and the ongoing ASEAN meetings, Senior Supt. Eugene Paguirigan from the PNP’s Directorate for Operations said.
“Pero madagdagan pa ‘yon kasi ine-expect natin na lalong dadami ang mga turista lalo na nag-host ng Miss Universe at nakita naman nila na of all these major international events, zero crime incidents tayo,” Paguirigan said in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Thursday.
The public can expect more policemen in the streets when the PNP starts activating its “Oplan SumVac (summer vacation)” in the first week of April.
The PNP’s safety campaign for summer will last until after Independence Day on June 12.
Aside from the police, Paguirigan said the government forces will be augmented by force multipliers from the local government and private sector.
Last year, around 92,000 force multipliers were sent to support the police in securing different areas of convergence and tourist destinations.
The operations official assured that security threats coming from terror groups will also be dealt with accordingly by the PNP.
“We are not discounting that possibility. Threats will be addressed properly by our security forces,” Paguirigan said. JE/rga