ILOILO CITY — The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) is preparing for the smooth and orderly reopening of Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan on October 26.
The preparations were discussed during the command conference held at the Camp Martin Delgado, Fort San Pedro, in this city on Monday, said Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, Regional Director of PRO-6 (Western Visayas), on Tuesday.
Bulalacao said they have deployed more policemen on the island in anticipation of the influx of tourists, however, he did not reveal the number of men due to security reasons.
“All personnel were trained to be tourist-oriented through the tourist-oriented policing concept,” he said in an interview.
Prior to the island’s closure last April 26, Metro Boracay Task Force, with Senior Supt. Jesus Cambay as commander, was created as an interim force to secure the island against all forms of criminality.
The task force is composed of 538 policemen to maintain the island’s peace and order.
Bulalacao said the Malay Municipal Police Station was downgraded as a police precinct while Boracay Police Precinct was upgraded to Boracay Tourist Police Station “bringing in the logistical and human resources as the gravity of tourism and influx of population is within the island.”
He added that additional three more police precincts will be strategically placed in some parts of the island after its reopening.
In terms of equipment, Bulalacao said several patrol vehicles, firearms, patrol boats, Explosives and Ordnance Division, and K9 units and communication gadgets were added to the existing resources.
“This is to ensure that the entire island will be secured against unscrupulous individuals who might sabotage its reopening,” he said.
He added they have already met with the business owners in the island to ensure that adequate security will be provided to them.
Apart from the security preparations for the island’s reopening, Bulalacao said they discussed during the conference security preparations for the Masskara Festival in Bacolod City slated this second week of the month.
They also tackled current risk and threat assessment in the region, operational accomplishments, update on internal cleansing, enhanced managing police operations data and crime statistics, and the upcoming mid-term elections in 2019.
“So far, I am pleased to announce that crime incidents continue to dip as a result of our intense anti-illegal drugs campaign and enhanced management of our police operations,” he said.
“I also gave my guidance to further improve our accomplishments and to commend deserving commanders who are well performing,” he added.
Bulalacao said Western Visayan remains to be generally peaceful amid previous crime incidents that happened in the region. “In general, we remain on top of the situation,” he added. (Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
