PNP to deploy 34,000 cops for Lent, summer

As thousands are expected to take advantage of the Holy Week and summer break to go on vacations, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said security measures would be intensified to ensure public safety.

Col. Jean Fajardo, PNP public information officer, said up to 34,000 PNP personnel would be deployed as part of the police’s Oplan Ligtas Summer Vacation.

Tourist destinations, transportation hubs, commercial areas, seaports, airports, places of worship and other areas of convergence will be covered.

“We are now in the final stage of our preparations for the Oplan Summer Vacation,” Fajardo told a news briefing.

She said police regional directors have the discretion to adjust security deployment depending on the prevailing environment in their respective areas in coordination with local government units.

There is still no decision if the PNP will be on full alert, but regional directors have the discretion to raise the alert level in their respective areas, Fajardo said.

Undercover agents and 7,000 tourist police officers are part of the security contingent.

Fajardo reminded the public to secure their homes if they are going on vacation and consider installing anti-theft devices such as surveillance cameras.

She stressed the need for the public to save police hotlines as well as the numbers of barangay officials and emergency response offices on their cell phones for them to immediately report incidents.

PCG on alert

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said the agency would be on alert from March 23 to April 3 in line with the Department of Transportation’s Oplan Biyaheng Ayos: Semana Santa.

Gavan directed PCG districts, stations and sub-stations to intensify seaborne patrols and safety measures at all ports and waterways nationwide.

He said PCG members would monitor around the clock nautical highways in the western and eastern seaboards, including inter-island routes.

PCG K9 units and security teams as well as seaborne patrol units will also be deployed for possible search and rescue missions.

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ANDY ZAPATA Devotees visit the Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Naga, also known as the pilgrim city in Camarines Sur, ahead of the observance of Holy Week. The church is one of the largest Marian pilgrimage sites in Asia.