Mandaue police to patrol motels

Valentine’s Day will be a red-letter day for the police in Central Visayas.

Not because they will go out on dates but they will watch out for party drugs and lovers who might quarrel while waiting for a room vacancy in inns, lodges or motels.

Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Debold Sinas ordered the city and provincial police directors to monitor events on Thursday, Feb. 14, including concerts, to prevent the distribution party drugs.

Sinas said he does not want the incident involving 19-year-old Ashley Abad, who died of ecstasy overdose during a pre-Sinulog concert, to happen again under his watch.

The PRO 7 will coordinate with event organizers, saying there should be police officers inside event venues.

“We are checking concerts that target millennials. We have requested the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) to assist us so we can monitor these places,” Sinas said.

Motels, hotels, inns, lodges and pension houses in Central Visayas will also be inspected to prevent the entry of minors.

A roving police team will tell attendants to report any adult in the company of a minor.

For its part, the Mandaue City Polcie Office (MCPO) will check motels and other places where lovers are expected to flock on Thursday.

Chief Insp. Mercy Villaro, MCPO spokesperson, said past monitoring showed that lovers already line up outside motels as early as 4 a.m. of Feb. 14.

The long queues, she said, often extend to the road as the day and night progress, causing traffic.

Villaro said the MCPO will coordinate with the Traffic Enforcement Agency to help ease congestion where motels are located.

The MCPO will also secure malls as some Filipinos celebrate Valentine’s Day by having dates with loved ones in restaurants or by shopping together.