Coast Guard to help secure Sinulog fluvial parade

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday said it would deploy personnel to help secure participants during the Sinulog Festival, particularly during the fluvial parade Saturday.

Cebu Coast Guard Commander Rolando Punzalan said security measures and guidelines are already in place for the event.

He added that they would deploy four ships and five rubber boats to secure the 65 participating vessels and the 60 marshal sea crafts that would be joining the traditional religious procession.

According to him, marshal boats will be assigned per participant to check if they have complied with rules.

The regulator seacrafts or sea marshals would ensure that none of the participating vessels would attempt to “overtake” other sea crafts during the event, he explained.

The maritime agency would also be sending divers to complement the teams that would be sent by other agencies, including the Philippine Navy.

Punzalan said that a fluvial parade is more difficult to control than a parade on terra firma because of so many factors, like water current, wind direction, among others.

He said the vessels should keep a “safe distance” of about 10 meters from each other to avoid collision.

Punzalan added that they would be on the lookout for those who might attempt to bring in alcoholic beverages, firecrackers and balloons with helium. He also stressed that children 12 years old and below will not be allowed to join the water parade.