BACOLOD CITY – Police Col. Noel Aliño, Bacolod police director, said that 1,000 policemen from the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Western Visayas will be deployed here to augment the security in the MassKara Festival.
This is on top of the regular force of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) that will be utilized for the event.
Aliño said that they will have a full blast deployment as the campaign period for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections from October 19 to 28 coincides with the festival from October 6 to 22.
“The situation right now is different because of the BSKE,” he added.
Aside from the festival, Aliño said that they also need to secure the 61 barangays here for an honest and peaceful election.
He said that the augmentation force will return to their mother units once the festival is over because they will also be utilized for the election in various areas in the region.
Despite this, he assured that the city police force is ready to ensure a safe and peaceful BSKE.