PNP: Security, safety of Ati-Atihan festivalgoers is top priority

Boy Ryan B. Zabal

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PNP: Security, safety of Ati-Atihan festivalgoers is top priority
'We target zero major crime incidents and raise the level of trust and confidence of stakeholders that they feel safe in the Kalibo festival,' says the chief of the Kalibo Municipal station

AKLAN, Philippines – Security and safety plans for the 2019 Ati-Atihan Festival are in place to ensure public safety and mitigate threats.

The festival activities in Kalibo, Aklan for the Feast of Señor Santo Niño de Kalibo will run from January 2 to January 20.

With the festival approaching, the Site Task Group (STG) Ati-Atihan has finetuned the comprehensive security events planning to enhance security measures for tourists, devotees and balikbayans.

The security and safety of festivalgoers was discussed during the festival security and peace order committee meeting on December 19.

Superintendent Richard Mepania, chief of Kalibo municipal police station, said 3 staging areas and 21 police assistance detachments (PADs) will be put up near the festival venues for maximum deployment and police visibility.

A pedestrian screening area (PA) before entering the primary festival zone will also be set up to monitor and check merrymakers, while inner and outer border checkpoints along highways will be manned by composite teams from the Philippine National Police and Philippine Army.

“We target zero major crime incidents and raise the level of trust and confidence of stakeholders that they feel safe in the Kalibo festival,” Mepania said.

Around 1,500 uniformed police personnel will monitor and tighten security in the festival events. Bulk of the police security – from Aklan municipal police stations and the Police Regional Office 6 – will be deployed from January 17 until January 20.

Aside from the police, the STG security will also be augmented by the Philippine Army 12th Infantry Battalion, and force multipliers and emergency responders from the Bureau of Fire Protection, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Aklan Philippine Red Cross, Kalibo Auxiliary Police, and Barangay Police Action Team.

K9/EOD and civil disturbance management (CDM) units will be on standby for emergencies and critical situations.

STG Ati-Atihan is also working closely with event organizer Kalibo Sto Niño Ati-Atihan Foundation Inc (Kasafi) and other stakeholders to make sure the festival risks are immediately identified and managed by the security and safety teams. – Rappler.com

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