200 cops to be deployed in CAR’s top tourist spots
AROUND 200 cops will be deployed in known tourist spots in the Cordillera primarily to assist thousands of tourists expected to come up to the highland region for the holidays.
The cops will be deployed primarily in Baguio City, Banaue in Ifugao, and Sagada in Mountain Province.
Dubbed "tourist-oriented police (TOP)," the cops have been trained by the Department of Tourism (DOT) on skills like how to properly talk to tourists, give directions, and tell stories and histories about certain tourist attractions.
"We call it tourist police. This is our specialized police unit that will cater to thousands of tourists in the region,” Supt. Pelita Tacio, information officer of the Police Regional Office in Cordillera (PROCOR) told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
She added the policemen were also trained on basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for emergency situations.
Aside from the TOP cops, over 6,000 policemen will be on alert and standby to ensure peace and order and security in the entire region, Tacio said.
"Nakaantabay ang kapulisan natin sa lahat ng tourist spots dito sa region, kaya walang dapat ipag-alala ang mga turistang bumibista,” she said.
The officer assured a 100-percent police visibility in the region throughout the holiday season.
She said all leaves and vacations of policemen have been canceled.
"We were given a directive by the national headquarters (NHQ) that all police officers who will go back to their provinces during Christmas and New Year will have to report to the police station nearest them," she said.
Baguio City, which receives the majority of tourists in the region, has 50 trained tourist policemen.
Based on data from the City Tourism and
Special Events Office, Baguio gets the highest number of tourist arrivals every December, comprised of local, foreign, and balikbayan.
Baguio's number of visitors also grows yearly, from 122,709 tourist arrivals in December 2015, to 172,303 in 2016, to 198,599 in 2017.
tourist arrivals in the City of Pines grew by 17.52 percent to 1,521,748 in the entire 2017 from 1,294,906 in 2016.
“Consistent growth is observed through the months with doubledigit gains, except for the months of March and June. However, the highest volume is seen in the month of December with a total of 198,599 tourists,” the city's tourism office reported.
Meanwhile, Baguio City Police Office has laid down a comprehensive plan for the whole month of December, Supt. Tirso Manoli, Deputy City Director for Administration, said in an earlier press conference here.
Manoli said the plan includes a traffic scheme to avoid the "carmageddon" experienced in the city during the official opening of the Christmas season in the Philippine Summer Capital last Dec. 1.