DAVAO CITY — The Police Regional Office (PRO)-11 will deploy 300 members of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion (RFMB) to the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) as augmentation for the Kadayawan Festival.
“We have already conducted a series of meetings and preparations together with the local government unit of Davao City, particularly the Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC), and we are contributing even at the regional level,” PRO-11 director Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan on Saturday said.
Gaerlan said the deployment will start this week.
“I have committed to the Davao City Police Office at least 300 additional warm bodies to augment in securing Kadayawan activities,” Gaerlan said.
The regional police chief assured that the visitors would enjoy the festival free from any terrorist act.
“I hope this will be an incident-free Kadayawan that will be enjoyed not only by the people of Davao but also our guests,” Gaerlan said.
Aside from the deployment of additional forces, Gaerlan said there is also close coordination with the regional intelligence center for exchange of information that would enhance security preparations.
“But you know the most important is the participation of the public. If you observe suspicious looking things in your area, in business establishment that they might have check in, they must report. They (terrorists) make use of small inn,” he said.
Earlier, Benito De Leon, the chief of PSSCC, said 15,000 security forces from the DCPO, Task force Davao, volunteer police auxiliary, other law enforcement agencies and force multipliers will be deployed in the city.
De Leon said they will be deployed in areas, where there are major Kadayawan events. The festival organizers are expecting more visitors in the city for the Kadayawan.
The increase in forces to secure Kadayawan came following the explosion in Basilan last week.
Following the incident, Task Force Davao have further implemented stricter security checks at checkpoints leading into Davao City. (Rhoda Grace Saron/PNA)
